Sylvia Terzi, the owner of two ballet schools in Larnaca, recently became a very proud ballet teacher to 3 young ballerinas, who represented their country at the VKIBC World Ballet Championship Final in New York in April. 

Back in January, Helen Zeniou, Katerina Christophi Georgia Kasiouri and Artemis Christou travelled from Cyprus to England to take part in the semi-finals. They so impressed judge Valentina Koslova with their sensational ballet routines, that she awarded them places in the Final, taking place in New York in April. She applauded them for their exceptional talent and even though Cyprus was competing against several other countries, it was the only country to qualify.

Whilst the ballerinas were absolutely thrilled with such an accolade, the problem was how to fund such an expensive trip to take part in the competition. Thousands of euros were required for travel and accommodation for both ballerina and parent. Unfortunately, this was not economically viable for all competitors and a terrible disappointment for one ballerina who stayed behind.

Once in New York, both Helen, Katerina and Artemis competed against 32 international ballerinas from Europe, North America and South America.  Over the space of a week, the Cypriot competitors displayed such exceptional talent that little Helen Zeniou at the tender age of 9, was awarded a Bronze medal. 

On May 30, Larnaca Mayor, Andreas Viras invited the girls to his office and honoured each of them with a plaque, thanking them for their contribution in representing Cyprus so successfully. He was very generous with his praise and support. 

Said Sylvia Terzi, 'There are so many exceptionally talented dancers all over Cyprus that it is tragic that so few of them get the opportunity to dance at an international level because their families simply do not have the funds to pay for expensive trips abroad. We really need to have a budget from the Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth that gives our young talent the opportunity to excel and show the world just how good Cyprus is at all kinds of sports. Gifted children who put in hours of practice with determination, dedication and persistence, deserve to be supported by our Ministry'.