Baku to host WDC World Professional Ballroom Championship & Night of Dancing Diamonds

JW Marriott Absheron Hotel in Baku will host WDC World Professional Ballroom Championship and an exceptional show Night of the Dancing Diamonds on October 28-29.

It’s not by chance that the World Dance Council has nominated Azerbaijan to hold a title event of global importance. Azerbaijan pays a great deal of attention to the implementation of its progress in culture and sport. Wide - ranging programmes and projects are held every year, with the aim of emphasizing creative potential and increasing international prestige. This aspiration originates from the legendary leader Heydar Aliyev, who saw the prosperity of his country in the development of these sectors. As a country that introduced the Muslim world to ballet, a country with unique traditions in folk dance art, jazz and classical music, Azerbaijan will undoubtedly be a great place for holding these sports events to the highest level.

The event was organized by the Azerbaijan Dance Council (AZDC) led by its President, People’s Artist of Azerbaijan, Tarana Muradova, and the Smooth & Rhythm Dance Style (SRDS) company headed by its founder and president, Olga Krasnyanskaya.

It is the organizers’ mission to further strengthen the cultural values of Azerbaijan, convey the need of developing ballroom dancesport in the country and represent the nature of ballroom dance and its both athletic and artistic features. This will ultimately create new opportunities for one’s spiritual and physical growth, resulting in harmony of the soul. It is in our hopes that ballroom dance will resonate with the younger generation and soon new couples will represent the country at world-class tournaments, maybe even taking the pedestals, with the ballroom dance movement gaining national popularity.

The WDC World Professional Ballroom Championship on the 28th of October will be a landmark event in the dancesport life of Azerbaijan and certainly one for the books, since a competition of such level will be held here for the first time. Among the participants will be the best dancers of the world from over 48 nations, including five-time World Champions, Honored Masters of Sports of Azerbaijan - Eldar Dzhafarov and Anna Sazhina. For the first time Eldar and Anna will perform on their homeland’s dance floor and compete for the champions’ title, after proudly bearing the country’s flag for 20 years at numerous tournaments all around the world.

More than 500 couples and solo performers will be seen in the following categories:

-86 WDC World Professional Ballroom Championship

-Open to the World Professional Latin Championship

-SRDS Amateur & Professional Smooth Super Trophy

-Open to the World Amateur Championships in Ballroom, Latin, Smooth

-Open to the World Youth Championships in Ballroom, Latin, Smooth

-Open to the World Junior Championships in Ballroom, Latin, Smooth

-Open to the World Juvenile Championships in Ballroom, Latin, Smooth

-Open to the World Juvenile/Junior Championships in solo Ballroom, Latin, Smooth

-Azerbaijan Open championships in Salsa, Bachata, Argentine Tango.

-Open to the World Pro Am in Ballroom, Latin, Smooth, Rhythm, Argentine tango, Caribbean mix.

The evening will be hosted by Donnie Burns (MBE), fourteen-time Latin Dance World Champion, President of the World Dance Council, and Leila Guliyeva, an Azerbaijani TV presenter.

On October 29th, SRDS will present Azerbaijani public for the second time with a unique gala show

«Night of the Dancing Diamonds» performed by the best couples in the world in various dance styles, who are, essentially, true ballroom dance diamonds. The Gala Show «Night of the Dancing Diamonds» will be hosted by the Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, President of the Russian Dance Union Stanislav Popov and Leila Guliyeva.

The orchestra led by Boris Myagkov will create an authentic atmosphere for the participants, turning the gala evening into a real show.

On October 27th the International Dance Congress, organized by Azerbaijan Dance Council, will take place, where the following dance styles will be present: International Ballroom, International Latin, International Smooth, Caribbean Mix and Argentine Tango.

Finally, on October 30th, guests of the festival will be welcome to join an excursion that can only be described as once-in-a-lifetime, accompanied by a brilliant guide and learn the history of the marvelous city of Baku through the prism of poetry and old tales. Delightful national cuisine and evening walks around the city of lights will seal the true feeling of the East in everyone’s hearts.

«Azerbaijan Dance Festival» and «Night of the Dancing Diamonds» are two immensely significant events in the spheres of sports and culture of Azerbaijan, and they are certainly a must-visit for those wishing to experience the incredible atmosphere of festivity.

The Azerbaijan Dance Festival is the new wind of change, the light of ideas, the fire of desires and a

true celebration of dance. The future begins today.

Come and dance with us. The key is to see and not to miss.

Media partners of the event are Azernews.Az, Trend.Az, Day.Az and Milli.Az