A 46-year-old Ukrainian woman wowed the judges on "Ukraine's Got Talent" with her belly dance performance
Iryna Karpenko-Goltsova, 46, wowed the judges on “Ukraine’s Got Talent” with a passionate belly dance performance and received three “yes” votes. The Ukrainian woman said she didn’t start dancing until she was 43, and at that time, she weighed 115 kg.
Despite this, she mastered the complex techniques and mustered the courage to take the stage in front of an audience of thousands.
After her dance, she received the three “yes” votes she’d been hoping for.
Before going on stage, Iryna explained that she works as an HR manager in the IT industry and, because of her job, leads a largely sedentary lifestyle. However, as an adult, she decided to finally fulfill her long-held dream
“If I could rewrite my life right now, I would definitely give myself the chance to dance sooner. But since I can’t rewrite it, I can build it here and now,” the contestant said.
She made no secret of the fact that she was nervous about her appearance and assumed that not all viewers would react positively to her performance. At the same time, Iryna hoped that at least one person in the audience would enjoy her dance.
“There are people who will say, ‘Why did she, being so fat, get on stage?’ But I also hope there’s at least one person in the audience who’ll say, ‘Ira, I liked your dance!’ That’ll be enough for me,” she admitted.
On stage, the 46-year-old Ukrainian performed a passionate Middle Eastern dance, demonstrating, in particular, the complex technique of isolation—moving a specific part of the body while the rest of the torso remains still.
The performance made the biggest impression on Olena Kravets. The judge admitted she was shocked by Iryna’s level of skill after just three years of training.
“I’m in shock. I just didn’t expect that this was possible in three years. With her weight, it’s very difficult,” said Kravets.
Later, she called the contestant artistic and even compared her to a witch, marveling at the energy of her performance.
"Iryna, you’re amazing, so artistic. My goodness, you’re such a witch! I’m incredibly happy for you. I’m so glad that three years ago you decided to start dancing, and then had that crazy thought: ‘Why not try out for “Ukraine’s Got Talent”?’ I’ve got goosebumps. What a rush!” said the judge.
For his part, Stanislav Boklan reacted with humor to what he’d seen, noting that he hadn’t paid any attention to Iryna’s weight during the dance.
“Listen, it’s magical, it’s amazing, it’s alluring, it’s very feminine. They mentioned some kilograms—I didn’t see them. I saw a person who loves doing what she does,” Boklan said.
Artem Pivovarov was also thrilled by the contestant. He noted that her energy is so strong that he wouldn’t want to see Irina leave Ukraine.
"I really don’t want you to leave Ukraine. They’ll snatch you right up here. You’re just so full of energy and so cool that I want you to stay right here," the artist said.
Iryna admitted that until the very end she didn’t believe the judges would rate her performance positively, since she doesn’t consider herself a professional dancer.
“I was 43 when I started dancing. And I weighed 115 kg. I work remotely as an HR manager in IT. It’s a desk job—I don’t move at all. I raised a child, and then I started dancing,” she said.
After her performance, Pivovarov told Iryna something she hadn’t even expected: all three judges said “yes” to her.
Backstage, the 46-year-old contestant didn’t hide her emotions and admitted that the result exceeded all her expectations.
“I think they liked me. To be honest, this is more than I ever dreamed of,” Irina said.
It is known that Iryna Karpenko-Goltsova is originally from Baku (Azerbaijan). As a child, she dreamed of dancing, but due to her family’s difficult financial situation, she couldn’t afford lessons. Later in life, she focused on her education, her children, and her career.
At the start of the full-scale invasion, Iryna was living in Irpin with her daughter. Later, the family moved to Volyn. It was there that she decided not to put her dreams on hold any longer and signed up for her first online belly dancing class.
Just three weeks after she started training, she took part in her first competition. Over the next three years, Iryna won numerous medals and trophies, which, she says, barely fit in her small house in Volyn.
A video of her performance has been posted on YouTube.
Reuters: The ISU has revoked Kamila Valieva’s neutral status.
In the Ternopil region, the parents of teenagers will be fined for dancing to Russian music on the Alley of Heroes.
Law enforcement officers in Vinnytsia Oblast discovered a video on a Telegram channel showing a man disrupting public order by dancing on the Walk of Fame in Mohyliv-Podilskyi. Police recorded the incident and quickly identified the offender.
On July 29, police in the Kyiv region are investigating two underage girls who danced to Russian music in front of photos of fallen soldiers on the Alley of Glory in the village of Petrivka, Fastiv District.
