More than words: mime, music and dance.

(1-E) BLENDING A RANGE OF FEELINGS
In the world of mime, Slava Polunin is a living legend. He is one of the most famous mime artists on the world stage and his stage persona, Asisyai, with his yellow boiler suit and fluffy red slippers, is instantly recognisable. Slava's Snowshow, which is still performed worldwide, is a modern masterpiece, captivating audiences with its mixture of hilarious comedy and powerful emotion. This hugely imaginative performance ends as an indoor blizzard sweeps across the auditorium sprinkling an amazed audience with snowflakes.

(2-C) THE SHOCK OF THE NEW
The ballet The Rite of Spring by composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky, which was first performed in 1913, revolutionised both ballet and orchestral music.This modern approach to ballet broke with artistic tradition and almost brought the house down on the first night - literally. The boos of the audience soon developed into a riot that only calmed down after the police arrived during the intermission. Classical music doesn't often cause such controversy, but The Rite of Spring is now universally acknowledged as a true work of art.

(3-G) ONCE MORE FOR GLORY
After coming second in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with his song Never Let You Go, Dima Bilan was guaranteed a successful career. What few people expected though, was that he would try again in 2008 and, this time, take first place with Believe. Now with an international career that has him touring worldwide and recording with some of pop music's most famous names, Dima is the face of Russian pop that brought the Eurovision Song Contest to Moscow in 2009.

(4-A) SETTING THE STANDARD
Maya Plisetskaya has been acclaimed as one of the superstars of twentieth century ballet. Having trained from an early age, she first performed with the Bolshoi Ballet at the age of 11 and stayed with them until 1990. Famed for her red hair, graceful movements and electric performances, she impressed the world when she took to the stage in such ballets as Swan Luke and Sleeping Beauty. She has received many honours both at home and abroad. Maya Plisetskaya is the ultimate role-model for all the dancers who have followed in her footsteps.

(5-B) STILL GOING STRONG
Oleg Popov, the Sunshine Clown, trained at the circus school in Moscow and soon became one of the most popular clowns in Russia. Over the course of his career he has received many awards. In 1969, he was honoured as the People's Artist and in 1981 he received the prestigious Golden Clown of Monte Carlo award. Despite being in his seventies, Oleg still performs both at home and internationally. He says that his goal is to: 'create joy, not laughter for its own sake'.

(6-H) UNITING MANY STYLES
Chelyabinsk Contemporary Dance Theatre has built a reputation on innovative performances that combine dance with elements of theatre. Olga Pona, the group's choreographer, only became interested in modern dance when she was at university. Her late start hasn't stopped her from becoming a major name in this genre though. She believes that there are many types of contemporary dance and that allows her to make her own rules for the work she performs. She combines folkdance, modern movement, sound and silence to forge unforgettable performances.

(7-F) GREAT WORKS AND GOOD WILL
Mstislav 'Slava' Rostropovich was a cellist and composer who inspired entire generations of musicians. Coming from a family of musicians, he soon demonstrated his natural talent with the cello. His remarkable skill was only matched by his genuine compassion for others. The Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Foundation was set up to improve the health of children and to this day it has helped over nine million through immunisation programmes. Rostropovich died in 2007, but his legacy lives on.