“The world legend Victor da Silva crowned the evening with his exclusive show, which the audience will never forget” – the International Festival of Professional and Amateur Dancers in Tbilisi has ended.
With the support of Creative Georgia and Tbilisi City Hall, the Open World Festival of Professional and Amateur Dancers and the International Tournament “Georgian Dance Queen Cup” gala evening and award ceremony were held at the Sheraton Metekhi Tbilisi Grand Palace Hotel on October 19. The event opened with the Georgian national anthem.
The festival was attended and judged by: Rostom Aroshvili, Verka Jajanidze, Sopho Petriashvili, Tamaz Todua, Ekaterine Archaia, Ajiderski Clavik – Israel, Kudinov Oleg – (neutral), Lokvinenko Pavel – Israel, Mor Eli – Israel, Mamyan Mariana – Armenia, Dzhafarov Eldar – Azerbaijan, Abrate Jerry – Italy, Abrate Victoria – Italy, Baistert Dirk – Germany, Chief Judge: Sporikhyn Mikhail (neutral) – PRO-AM, Chief Judge: Jano Titirashvili.
The main culmination of the festival was the brilliant show program of Exhibition Dances by 4-time world champion Victor da Silva and his partner, Katerina Krisanova, the winner of the UK OPEN in the city of Blackpool and world champion in Latin-American dances. Singer Dodona Namoradze and the ensemble Khalibi, under the leadership of Goderdzi Manjaparishvili, also performed before the audience. The festival and the awards ceremony were hosted by Tea Tsiklauri and Levan Mashava.
The founder and organizer of the festival is Lizzie Mori, and the festival director is Ani Laghidze.
The goal of the festival is to attract the attention of the World Dance Council and to promote the professional development and career advancement of the participating local dancers, so that, in the future, the younger generation can gain an important place on the international stage.
Both local and foreign dancer couples participated in the festival. During the festival, travelers and tourists visited Georgia for the first time in order to get to know “Diverse Georgia” better. They visited the historical city of Mtskheta, the city of love in Kakheti, Sighnaghi, where they tasted Georgian cuisine and visited the Simon Janashia National Museum of Georgia. The implementation of such an international project will further increase the popularization of Georgia’s cultural tourism potential in the world and will accelerate the pace of tourism development in the country.
Lizzie Mori – Founder of the Festival:
“Tbilisi hosted the International Festival of Professional and Amateur Dancers for the first time. International judges visited Tbilisi especially for the festival. The festival combined two important tournaments, where, on this special day, the best foreign and local couples gathered in Tbilisi to compete for the Queen Cup of Georgian Dance. The festival ended with an award ceremony. I congratulate all the winners and participants on the establishment of this most important festival, their participation in the competition, and their victory.
After the announcement of the winning finalists, the charismatic dancer Victor da Silva, together with Katerina Krysanova, presented a special show program to the public.”
Victor da Silva – Dancer:
“I am delighted with the Georgian audience. Their emotions exceeded all expectations. I am grateful to each and every person. I fell in love with this country very much. I hope to visit Georgia many more times.”
Ekaterine Archaia – President of the National Council of Professional Dancers:
“The festival and competition were held at the highest level. The participants were quite well prepared and presented a diverse program to the judges and the audience. This festival and competition are of great importance for the promotion of our country and the career advancement of the young people united in our federation. I wish success to Ms. Lizzie.”
Andro Enukidze – Director of the Event:
“The festival is a bold step towards the promotion of Georgian ballroom dancing. Georgia will definitely appear on the world ballroom dancing map as a country where a large-scale festival is held — of course, glittering and glamorous, because the festival itself determines this. The evening was crowned by the world legend Victor da Silva with his exclusive show, which the audience will never forget.”
Ani Laghidze – Festival Director:
“It was a great honor for the International Festival of Professional and Amateur Dancers, which was held for the first time in Georgia, to host Victor da Silva — a champion, mentor, choreographer, actor, and dancer. He does his best and spares no effort for the new generation, who are now choosing this beautiful profession for their career advancement and development.”
Victor da Silva distinguished himself with his unforgettable aerial leaps, turns, and body-twisting stories. It can be safely said that today he occupies an honorable and worthy place among the best dancers of our time. And we are delighted to see Silva’s partner, world champion Ekaterina Krysanova. Thank you to Ms. Lizzie for this happiness. Thank you to the beautiful local couples for their dedication and love of dance. Dancing sets us free. Let’s all start dancing.
The festival is organized by Yama 2025 LLC.
The festival was organized by Lizzie Mori, a professional dancer, teacher, international category judge, and a delegate invited from Georgia to the WDC (World Dance Council) Annual General Meeting.
