Mikis Theodorakis (1925–2021) was the greatest Greek composer of the 20th century — a poet, a politician, and a symbol of resistance. His score for the film Zorba the Greek (1964) became one of the most recognisable pieces of music in the world. Theodorakis studied at the Athens and Paris conservatories under Olivier Messiaen. He composed seven symphonies, four operas, numerous ballets, and film scores, bringing the poetry of Nobel laureates to the masses through music. A wartime resistance fighter and political prisoner under the military junta, Theodorakis became the voice of freedom for all of Greece. His music for the Zorba ballet was specially composed for the stage production based on the film soundtrack, and remains one of the most emotionally powerful ballet scores of our time.

Lorca Massine (b. 1944, New York) is an American choreographer and dancer of Russian heritage, son of the legendary ballet master Léonide Massine. He worked with the greatest choreographers of our time — Balanchine, Béjart, Robbins. He danced principal roles with the New York City Ballet and performed at the Metropolitan Opera and London Royal Opera House. He has choreographed over 50 ballets and musicals. His masterwork — Zorba, which premiered at the Arena di Verona in 1988 — became the most attended contemporary full-length ballet in the world.

Igor Tsvirko is a principal dancer of the Bolshoi Theatre. He graduated from the Moscow State Academy of Choreography in 2007 and joined the Bolshoi Ballet Company. He has been nominated three times for the Golden Mask award and won the ballet magazine Soul of Dance prize in the Star nomination (2017). In 2018, together with Ekaterina Krysanova, he was named Best Duet at the international Dance Open festival. He was voted Dancer of the Month by British magazine Dancing Times (2016). His repertoire includes leading roles in both classical and contemporary ballets: Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, and Spartacus and legendary role of Zorba the Greek

Oleg Ivenko is a principal dancer of the Tatar Academic State Opera and Ballet Theatre (Kazan). He gained worldwide fame for starring as Rudolf Nureyev in Ralph Fiennes' film The White Crow (2019). He received the Leonide Massine Prize in Positano (2020) as Best Dancer of the Year on the International Stage. He won the Grand Prix at the Yuri Grigorovich International Competition (2014) and First Prize at the Korean International Ballet Competition (2016).