Sukhishvilebi ends 70th anniversary world tour with European shows

The Sukhishvilebi Georgian National Ballet is ending its 70th anniversary celebrations with a tour of three European nations – Italy, San Marino and Switzerland.

Beginning this Saturday the acclaimed folk dance troupe will perform 16 shows at 13 locations in Italy, San Marino and Switzerland over three weeks, including a New Year’s Eve celebration during their European tour.

Sukhishvilebi will perform in Geneva in Switzerland and Dogana in San Marino and about a dozen other venues throughout Italy before the troupe returns home to Georgia on January 3.

Hollywood actor Ralph Fiennes surprised the company in Georgia's capital Tbilisi in September. Photo from Sukhishvilebi Georgian National Ballet.

Sukhishvilebi is embarking on the trip in the wake of successful performances in Israel and Bulgaria over the past two weeks.

The troupe were welcomed in Israel and held several shows between November 20-25 in cities including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, before the troupe performed in front of an audience of 4,500 in Bulgaria's capital Sofia on November 28.

An announcement from Sukhishvilebi said the touring calendar for 2016 and the first half of 2017 had already been booked, and shows in an upcoming 2016 Eastern Europe tour were already "nearly sold out".

The Eastern Europe tour will see Sukhishvilebi perform 50 shows over two months in Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine and Belarus, starting February 9.

This year the troupe embarked on a world tour to celebrate its 70th anniversary. The company also paid homage to its roots and took part in the Tbilisi Festival of Theatre in September.

Established by Iliko Sukhishvili and Nino Ramishvili in 1945 as the first professional state dance company in Georgia, Sukhishvilebi performed international tours at famous venues including The Metropolitan Opera, Madison Square Garden and Teatro alla Scala.