Germany-based Georgian dance troupe thrills at Tbilisi Theatre Festival

A small dance troupe established by two Georgian artists in Germany has proven to be a hit at the 2015 Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre on their first visit to Georgia.

Sosani Dance Theatre’s contemporary production Numb garnered instant recognition from its sold-out crowd at the Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre’s Big Stage on Monday.

The one-off performance featured in the Festival’s International Program but had earlier received critical praise in Germany, where it was called a "perfect implementation which is virtuosic and utterly expressive” by the Mittelbayeriche Zeitung newspaper.

Dancers from Numb pose with choreographer George Sosani. Photo from Sosani Dance Theatre/Facebook.

Director and choreographer Thea Sosani praised her dancers following Monday night’s performance and noted the "mutual affection” felt among the small crew.

We have created a very young theatre together. What we did [on Monday] at the Marjanishvili Theatre was really emotional for me, and [the dancers] saw how nervous I was,” Sosani said in a thankful address to the performers, the audience and festival organisers on Tuesday.

Numb uses musical and dancing language to focus on human relationships and emotions in a play of five dancers, where the audience can "recognise and discover” themselves, according to creators.

The production was created for Sosani Dance Theatre after its founding in 2000 by Thea and George Sosani. The Georgian couple later included the troupe within Sosani Art Zone, which also involved two other projects for training performers and discovering new talent.

Thea and George worked on the troupe’s choreography and also perform themselves. Thea, a former Soviet rhythmic gymnastics champion who later graduated from Tbilisi’s Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Cinema University with a degree in direction and acting, is also a successful painter and has featured in exhibitions across Germany.

The company is based in the German city of Regensburg where it holds performances and workshops in various theatres.

Watch the trailer for Sosani Dance Theatre’s play Numb below:

The 2015 Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre will continue until Thursday, October 8. You can find the full Festival program here.