- Aristotelis Valaoritis, 62, from Cyprus, has been doing ‘glass dancing’ since 1995
A man has broken the record for the number of wine glasses balanced on his head with 319 stacked on nine trays – before they all fell to the floor.
Aristotelis Valaoritis, from Cyprus, has an unusual hobby that the security advisor just introduced Guinness World Record.
Since 1995 he has been practicing ‘glass dancing’, a traditional Cypriot skill, in which he balances several glasses on a tray on his head.
In his recent feat, recognized by Guinness, the 62-year-old balanced 319 wine glasses stacked above him – almost 50 more than the previous record holder, fellow Cypriot Ntinos Kkanti.
In a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, Aristotelis waits patiently as his assistant places the ninth tray of glasses on his head.
Aristotelis Valaoritis (pictured), from Cyprus, has an unusual hobby that just earned the security advisor a Guinness World Record
Aristotelis (pictured) has been doing ‘glass dancing’, a traditional Cypriot skill, since 1995, in which he balances several glasses in a tray on his head
He then wiped the sweat from his brow before breaking into a dance by gyrating his hands and swaying his hips.
When he returned to add another tray of glasses to his stack, the glass tower fell and shattered into thousands of pieces on the floor.
The 319 wine glasses weighed over 30 kg and despite the heavy weight that Aristotelis balanced on his head, he still managed to entertain the audience with his dance steps.
After the last tray was placed on top, he balanced the tower for twenty seconds – double the minimum time required for the record.
To become the latest record holder, Aristotelis didn’t have to move or stand – let alone dance – while balancing the glasses, making his feat even more impressive.
He said afterwards that he enjoys the thrill of seeing the tension on the spectators’ faces as he dances with all the glassware on his head.
To prepare for the record attempt, he trained his neck in exercises that involved balancing a 50kg barrel of sand hanging from a tree on his head for five minutes every day.
When Aristotelis first started glass dancing almost thirty years ago, he accidentally smashed one of his grandmother’s old water glasses – and then quickly bought his own.
Even today, glasses are still broken during his performances. He said they are sometimes broken by his assistant or himself, but usually by audience members he invites to put a glass on them.
Aristotle wiped the sweat from his brow before breaking into a dance by gyrating his hands and swaying his hips. When he returned to add another tray of glasses to his stack, the glass tower fell and shattered into thousands of pieces on the floor.
Despite already being the record holder, Aristotelis set his sights on two more challenges: balancing the most glasses on the head in one stack and the most whiskey glasses balanced on the head.
He will have to balance 25 glasses for the first and 270 glasses for the last.
Although there are currently no record holders who can beat this one, it is likely that the entertainer will not attempt these feats without putting on a show for his captivated audience.
“I want to prove to everyone that I can still do it, and I like the challenge,” he said Guinness World Records.
‘I’m glad that at this age nothing is impossible… so never give up.’