The welcoming address was delivered by Andrey Kokoulin, President of the All-Russian Dance Organisation. “I would like to congratulate all the participants, judges, spectators and guests, as well as the organisers on the occasion of this event! Our competition is the largest and most challenging national championship in Eastern Europe! You will see the future international stars of world dance performing in front of you today”, he said.

Caesar the Leopard, the live mascot of the event, was also in attendance. Caesar and his owner, Alexander, came to St. Petersburg especially to attend the event. “Caesar might have a fearsome name, but he is very friendly, so he will be happy to participate in photo shoots and public events. We will be here for the entire competition to support our dancers”, the animal’s handler and owner said.

The competition will take place in several halls at the same time in almost 30 different dance routines, such as dance show, pop dance, modern dance, jazz dance, folk dance, flamenco dance, pumping dance, salsa and others. The youngest dancers attending the event are 7-years-old, and the oldest are 50 and older. The judges will award prizes in individual and team events.

The dancers’ performances will be assessed according to the 3D system (performance technique, composition, image). For routines with show elements, a 4th component will be added to include the “show” criterion.