The Azerbaijan Dance Festival has been held at JW Marriott
Absheron's ballroom.
The International Dance Congress, the World Championship in the
European program according to WDC, and the Night of the Dancing
Diamonds were organized as part of the event, Azernews reports.
The festival was organized by the Azerbaijan Dance Union, led by
People's Artist Tarana Muradova, and SRDS Company, led by its
co-founder Olga Krasnyanskaya on the eve of celebrating the 100th
anniversary of the birth of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev, who
paid great attention to the development of the country`s cultural
and sports values.
The main event of the festival was the World Championship in the
European program among professionals.
It was in 2023 that the World Dance Union, led by its president,
Donnie Burns, chose Azerbaijan as the host country for the 86th WDC
World Championships.
"After 86 years of hosting the World Cup, we finally did it in
Baku, and it was an absolutely incredible, brilliant evening that
will remain in our hearts forever. A fantastic city with amazing
people and an absolutely amazing tournament," said Donnie
Burns.
The first place was taken by dance couple from the USA, Valerio
Colantoni and Anna Demidova. Second place was taken by Azerbaijani
dance pair - Eldar Jafarov and Anna Sazhina, six-time world
champions in ballroom dancing, Honored Masters of Sports of
Azerbaijan, who completed their 20-year dancing career with this
tournament. The farewell to the audience of this legendary dance
couple became one of the most emotional and memorable moments of
the festival.
"This tournament within the framework of the dance festival in
Azerbaijan has become a historical moment for us and our country.
We are confident that very soon the Azerbaijani couples will take
top places on the podiums of the world; we root for them with all
our hearts," Eldar Jafarov and Anna Sazhina noted.
The audience gave a standing ovation to Eldar Jafarov and Anna
Sazhina, who gave a touching ceremonial speech in honor of the end
of their careers, and the finale of this event was the couple's
tender and heartfelt farewell dance.
The capital of Azerbaijan was visited by festival participants
from more than 20 countries, including Italy, Germany, Great
Britain, Poland, USA, Singapore, Japan, Georgia, Canada, Argentina,
Israel, Russia, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Austria,
Switzerland, Cyprus , Turkiye, Belarus, France, Australia, Estonia,
Kazakhstan, Lithuania, South Africa.
The lineup of judges was truly phenomenal. The performances of
the participants were evaluated by world stars, including legends
of the dance world - Robin Short, Carol Powell, Steve Powell,
Caterina Arzenton, Slawek Sochacki, Hannes Emrich, Wayne Eng, Dorin
Frecautanu, Alessio Potenziani, Brian Schmidt, Harald Drenth, John
Kimmins, Lizi Mor , Martin Parnov Reichhardt, Satu Suomi, Shozo
Ishihara, Steffen Zoglauer, Svetlana Afanasyeva, Alexander
Zenkevich, Talyat Tarsinov, Anna Oksengoit, Alexey Zakharin, Andrey
Paramonov, Anna Melnikova, Anton Karpov, Artem Katsyra, Denis
Tagintsev, Dmitry Syzrantsev, Dmitry Samonov, Etibar Mammedov,
Evgeny Ryupin, Evgeny Smagin, Igor Kim, Leonid Pletnev, Natalya
Paramonova, Olga Foraponova, Daria Pechatnikova, Polina Kazachenko,
Ruslan Aidaev, Sergey Ryupin, Sianan, Tatyana Chernova, Utku Kuley,
Veronika Boltvina, Victor Novinsky, Zilya Primakova.
Over the course of two days, open world tournaments were held in
European, Latin American, American Smooth, Argentine tango, Salsa
and Bachata programs.
Duet and solo performances were presented in 38 nominations.
Dancers in the "children", "juniors," "professionals," "amateurs,
and "Pro-Am" categories performed on the floor.
Among them, participants in amateur and children's competitions
distinguished themselves and showed a decent high level of dance
art.
It is worth especially noting the victory in Latin American
dances of two-time champions of the Blackpool Festival and
three-time world champions Dorin Frecautanu and Marina Sergeeva,
who received a standing ovation from the audience and captivated
the audience and judges with their skill and charisma.
The hosts of the evening section of the first day of the
festival were Donnie Burns (MBE), fourteen-time world champion in
Latin American dance, president of the World Dance Union, and Leyla
Guliyeva, a TV presenter in Azerbaijan.
The special atmosphere of the festival was created by the
accompaniment of a symphony orchestra led by Boris Myagkov, who
created 20 dance arrangements of the most famous musical works of
Azerbaijan.
One of the brightest moments of the festival were the
performances of the world championship pairs according to the
European program, which were performed to the composition "Blue
Eternity" by Muslim Magomayev, which became the leitmotif of the
entire musical accompaniment of the festival. The parade of
participants solemnly took place to the legendary song of Magomayev
“My Azerbaijan”.
It is especially worth noting the competitions in social areas:
on a separate chamber platform of the Landmark Baku hotel, in
parallel with the main program of the festival, the Azerbaijan Open
Championships in Argentine tango, salsa, and bachata and master
classes from invited teachers were held. More than 250 dancers from
all over the world took part in these international
championships.
On October 29, as part of the festival, a unique dance show,
Night of the Dancing Diamonds, took place with the participation of
the world's strongest duets in various dance styles - the true
diamonds of ballroom dance. The hosts of this evening were Honored
Artist of the Russian Federation, President of the Russian Dance
Union Stanislav Popov and TV presenter Leila Guliyeva. Dorin
Frecautanu & Marina Sergeeva, Elena Khvorova and Anton Karpov, Anna
Melnikova and Denis Tagintsev, Andrey and Natalya Paramonov, Eldar
Jafarov and Olga Krasnyanskaya, Alexey Polovnikov and Olga
Shcherbina, Daria Pechatnikova and Mikhail Efimov, Oleg Kharlamov
and Tatyana Kudryavtseva, Eldar Jafarov and Anna Sazhina, Fyodor
Polyansky and Dina Akhmetgareeva, Evgeniy and Kristina Lisunov.
As part of the festival, on October 27, the International Dance
Congress was held in the areas of International Ballroom,
International Latin, and American Smooth under the auspices of the
Azerbaijan Dance Union. The Congress, with its unique lineup of
invited faculty, caused a real stir and attracted a record number
of participants.
In the eventful program of the festival, the organizers managed
to preserve the incredibly warm atmosphere and hospitality of
Azerbaijan. Numerous reviews from participants and spectators on
social networks noted the care and attention with which the
organizing team greeted the guests in Baku.
On October 30, festival guests plunged into the culture of
Azerbaijan: excursions to the sights of Baku with guide Fuad
Akhundov, traditional Baku food and drinks at the Merci Baku
restaurant made this day special, and the weather favored walks
through the city of lights.
The organizers expressed gratitude to the partners and sponsors
of the festival: the Vermont company, led by its founder Nadezhda
Solzhenitsyna, and the premium fitness club network Crocus Fitness
and its founder Emin Agalarov. And also all the participants,
winners, guests, colleagues, partners and everyone who became part
of the first Azerbaijan Dance Festival and thanks to whom this
three-day celebration of dance and beauty took place.
We are looking forward to next year on October 25, 26, and 27,
at the Azerbaijan Dance Festival 2024.
The festival results are available here .
Media partners of the event are Azernews, Trend, Day,
Milli.