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Solomon and Nadia Tencer are = ensuring=20 Toronto audiences have access to ballet superstars = such as=20 Desmond = Richardson.

DANCE PREVIEW

STARS OF THE 21ST CENTURY GALA

Toronto Centre for the Arts

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It's hard to think of Solomon Tencer slowing down, yet the = Soviet-born=20 impresario behind a succession of Stars of the 21st Century ballet = galas=20 -- the latest Toronto edition is this Sunday -- says he and his = wife Nadia=20 would enjoy a little less pressure in their lives. They're busy = enough=20 running their own school in Thornhill as well as the dance program = at the=20 Koffler Centre of the Arts and are in no rush to expand their = current gala=20 empire, which already includes Paris, New York and Cannes.

In 1993, the couple, with more enthusiasm than experience, = produced a=20 Toronto gala at the University of Toronto's Mac- Millan Theatre = honouring=20 Nadia Veselova- Tencer's former teacher, legendary Russian = ballerina Alla=20 Osipenko. As the skeptics predicted, the event lost money, but = that didn't=20 stop the Tencers from launching bolder plans. The Tencers sensed = that=20 Toronto fans, denied significant exposure to top-level = international=20 ballet stars, presented a market opportunity. So, lessons learned, = they=20 proceeded with plans for a second, much bigger gala honouring = Rudolf=20 Nureyev, the late, great Soviet-defector ballet superstar. They = wheeled in=20 the heavy artillery, persuading Kirov Ballet artistic director = Oleg=20 Vinogradov to supervise the program.

Once again, the skeptics, astounded by the seeming audacity of = two=20 local Russian-emigres (both arrived here in the 1980s), predicted=20 disaster. Instead, the 1995 Nureyev Gala, this time filling the = 3,000-seat=20 then O'Keefe Centre, was a dazzling success and the Tencers, = thoroughly=20 smitten by the gala bug, decided to mount a similar event = annually.

The title for this ongoing project, Stars of the 21st Century, = proved a=20 canny choice. By implication it embraces the idea that the gala = would not=20 merely present acknowledged ballet stars of today but also those = in the=20 making. "I have a very good eye for talent," says Nadia Tencer. It = subtly=20 distinguished the Tencers' project as a gala both for the = uninitiated in=20 search of glamour and for serious ballet fans eager to spot = tomorrow's=20 stars. Nadia Tencer reinforces the event's genuine artistic appeal = by=20 avoiding the usual ballet gala formula of endless classical toe=20 shoe-andtutu pops. There's texture and variety to her = programming.

It was only a chance meeting that brought the gala back to = Toronto. The=20 Tencers happened to meet Shoppers Drug Mart founder and = philanthropist=20 Murray Koffler and his wife Marvelle. In the course of = conversation the=20 Tencers related the story of their ballet galas. The Kofflers = subsequently=20 attended a Stars gala at New York's Lincoln Center and recognized = its=20 fundraising potential in support of their self-named arts centre = at the=20 Bathurst Jewish Community Centre. The gala, relocated to the = Toronto=20 Centre for the Arts, came home in April, 2002, and has returned = there=20 annually ever since. For the Tencers, it's an ideal arrangement. = They=20 produce the entertainment for a guaranteed fee. The Koffler Centre = handles=20 everything else, including the risk.

Galas of any stripe are not easy to sell these days, nor is = ballet the=20 hot art form it once was. "Toronto is a tough city," says Nadia = Tencer. In=20 comparison with cities such as Paris and New York, Toronto is also = a=20 ballet backwater. The Tencers concede that some of the biggest = names are=20 reluctant to appear here. Even so, this Sunday's lineup of 16 = dancers from=20 nine major companies offers plenty of enticement. Svetlana Lunkina = is a=20 Moscow Bolshoi Ballet superstar. American Ballet Theatre's=20 Argentinean-born Herman Cornejo is one of the most sensational = ballet=20 technicians on the planet with a radiant stage presence that's a=20 significant contributor to global warming. Ashley Boulder is a = powerhouse=20 New York City Ballet principal. As for Desmond Richardson, a Stars = gala=20 regular from New York's Complexions Contemporary Ballet, his = smoldering=20 virility is enough to wilt many a blue-rinse patron's = coiffure.

The local team is also well represented this year with four = National=20 Ballet of Canada members on the roster including established = company=20 favourites Guillaume Cote and Xiao Nan Yu along with Zdenek = Konvalina and=20 Bridgett Zher, two NBC newcomers who've already made a strong=20 impression.

The Tencers now circulate in glittering international social = circles=20 and are hailed in their homeland as exemplary ambassadors for the = art that=20 Russians claim as their own. Better still and rare among = impresarios, they=20 haven't lost their shirts. They have the luxury home and yacht to = prove=20 it. And did I hear Solomon Tencer mention a villa somewhere = exotic? - Apr.=20 29 at 5:30 p.m., Toronto Centre for the Arts (5040 Yonge St.). For = ballet-star schmoozing rights, you'll need premiumpriced gala = tickets;=20 call 416-636-1880, ext. 271. Regular tickets are $65 and up; call=20 416-872-1111 or visit www.ticketmaster.ca.