Children, youth and adult dancers of different styles performed on stage. The audience followed routines that combined technical skill, creativity and stage expression.
The evening featured the gala events Mini Urban Gala and Rising Star Gala, where the first winners of the festival were announced.
At the Mini Urban Gala, first place went to Zoja Milavec from ARTIFEX Postojna with the choreography Trip a Little Light Fantastic by Anaia Alilovski Žagar. Second place was taken by Pika Milanič and Iza Zavašnik Arčnik from Plesno mesto Ljubljana, while third place went to Iza Domjan and Živa Grdiša from the Samba Dance Centre with the choreography After Party. The audience award went to The Notebook – Love Story performed by the Špela Dance Studio.
At the Rising Star Gala, the winning choreography was The Playground of Life by the Kazina association, created by Mirjam Podobnik. Second place went to Ula Habič from Kazina with Kuku Late, while third place went to Z Z Z Z Z by Plesno mesto Ljubljana under the guidance of Maruša Krušič. The audience chose Bamba by the Špela Dance Studio as their favourite.
The festival continues today with the second competition day, when dancers will again present their choreographies and compete for places in the evening gala programme.
After the festival, the dance programme will move to Medvode, where the national championships of the Dance Association of Slovenia in modern competitive dance will take place between 25 June and 2 July. Almost 3,000 dancers from across the country will take part.
Medvode will then host two major international competitions. From 3 to 5 July, the European Show Dance Championship will take place with 1,600 dancers from 21 countries, followed by the World Street Dance Show Championship from 6 to 7 July with 900 dancers from 16 countries.
Together, the two international championships will bring more than 2,600 dancers from 24 countries to Slovenia, along with coaches, accompanying teams and supporters. Organisers expect the events to also strengthen the country’s tourism profile.
The first festival evening in Portorož has thus opened a period in which Slovenia will host a festival, a national championship, a European championship and a world championship, becoming for several weeks one of the centres of international dance activity.
