At the age of 13, Viktorija Džaiani left her hometown of Tbilisi, where she was a student at the Vachtang Chabukiani Ballet School, to pursue her dance training in New York. In 2003, after winning a bronze medal at the New York International Ballet Competition, she joined the renowned international company Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. There, she went on to perform all of her signature leading roles – Odette-Odile in Christopher Wheeldon’s production, Diana and Eurydice in Neumeier’s choreographies, Ashton’s Cinderella, Nikija and Gamzatti in Welch’s “Bayadère,” the Pastoral Juliet, Ljubov’s Desdemona, Posokhov’s Anna Karenina, and Kitri… and that represents just a minor portion of Viktorija’s creative CV.
The celebrated dancer has received numerous accolades throughout her career. Dance Magazine named the charismatic Georgian ballerina “Chicagoan of the Year,” Today’s Chicago Woman awarded her the title “Top Women in the Arts,” and Chicago Magazine recognized her as the city’s best dancer. These honors reflect the significant impact she’s had on the Chicago arts scene.
Adding to her captivating story, a beautiful Caucasian romance unfolded in Chicago: Viktorija met her husband and stage partner, Temur Suluašvili, a long-time principal dancer with Joffrey Ballet, in childhood. (Temur, four years her senior, has since concluded his dancing career.) The couple’s partnership both on and off stage has captivated ballet audiences for years.
