Giorgi Potskhishvili promoted to principal dancer
We are proud to announce that, as of last night, Giorgi Potskhishvili has been promoted to the rank of principal dancer. The director of Dutch National Ballet, Ted Brandsen, announced the promotion yesterday evening, immediately after a performance of the ballet Raymonda, in which Potskhishvili had danced the role of Sheikh Abd al-Rahman, who wins the heart of the Hungarian grand-duchess Raymonda.
Potskhishvili’s promotion is the pinnacle of an exceptional year for the young dancer. Following his promotion to soloist last April, he was awarded the Alexandra Radius Prize in September 2023, as well as receiving an international nomination in the category ‘Dancer of the Year’ from the leading magazine Dance Europe. In October 2023, Giorgi won the ‘Zwaan’ award for ‘Most impressive dance achievement’.
Potskhishvili will give further performances of the role of Abd al-Rahman in Raymonda on Friday 22 and Saturday 30 December 2023 at Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Amsterdam. A limited number of tickets are still available for both performances.
“Giorgi is a phenomenal dancer with a talent seldom seen. He has a charismatic stage personality with incredible jumps, fantastic technique and a natural feeling for partnering. A unique artist, who already at such a young age can clearly inspire a large audience”, says Ted Brandsen, director of Dutch National Ballet, about Potskhishvili.
We want to congratulate Giorgi Potskhishvili on this well-deserved promotion and wish him all the luck in his further career with Dutch National Ballet.
Giorgi Potskhishvili
The Georgian dancer joined Dutch National Ballet’s Junior Company in 2020, making the transition to the main company after just one year. There, still in the rank of élève, he danced a main role in Toer van Schayk’s 7th Symphony, with overwhelming success. In 2022, he was promoted twice: first to coryphée (skipping the rank of corps de ballet) and then to grand sujet later in the year. In April 2023, he was promoted to the rank of soloist, immediately after his debut performance in the role of Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake. Last September, Potskhishvili was awarded the Alexandra Radius Prize 2023 and last October he won the ‘Zwaan’ award for ‘Most impressive dance achievement’ for his interpretation of the role of Death in The Green Table, by Kurt Jooss.
