National dancers claim medals at world's oldest ballroom dance competition

Azerbaijani dancers, the family couple Eldar Jafarov and Anna Sazhina have claimed bronze medalists at the Blackpool Dance Festival, Azernews reports.

The 8-day dance festival is the world's first and most famous annual ballroom dance competition of international significance, held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, England since 1920. It is also the largest ballroom competition.

"For Anna and I, the Blackpool Festival is not a ballroom dancing competition, it's our lifestyle. From early childhood, we watched videos from the tournament on video cassettes and dreamed of being on this dance floor at least once. We have been training all our lives and still train every day. For 22 years in a row we have been participating in tournaments and championships, 19 of them in pairs. After meeting Anna in Italy, our wedding and the birth of a child, our main goals remain unchanged," Eldar Jafarov told Trend Life.

"The last two years we have been passing to the finals of the Blackpool Dance Festival, which is a great pride for us. When children's dreams come true, life becomes brighter and richer. Me and Anna have a sense to live, create, enjoy the art of ballroom dancing, be inspired and inspire others. We are glad that after so many years, we continue to move towards our goals together and proudly carry the Azerbaijani flag at the world championships," he added.

Honored masters of sports of international class Eldar Jafarov and Anna Sazhina are the founders of the Professional Dance Union in Azerbaijan (AzDC).

Since 2005, the dance couple has represented the country in the sports dance arena and are the first couple from Azerbaijan to enter the world dance elite.

Five-time world champions in ballroom dancing among professionals, holders of titles in world and European championships in various types of dance, prestigious international tournaments.