A man has smashed the record for the most wine glasses balanced on the head with 319 stacked on nine trays – before they all came crashing down.
Aristotelis Valaoritis, from Cyprus, has an unusual hobby that just earned the security adviser a Guinness World Record.
He has been ‘glass dancing’, a traditional Cypriot skill, since 1995, which sees him balance several glasses in a tray on his head.
In his recent feat acknowledged by Guinness, the 62-year-old balanced 319 wine glasses stacked above him – nearly 50 more than the previous record holder, fellow Cypriot Ntinos Kkanti.
In a video posted to X, formerly known was Twitter, Aristotelis is waiting patiently while his assistant deposits the ninth tray of glasses on his head.
He then wiped the sweat off his forehead, before he broke into a dance by twirling his hands and swaying his hips.
When he returned to add another tray of glasses to his stack, the glass tower came tumbling down and smashed into thousands of pieces onto floor.
The 319 wine glasses weighed more than 30kg and despite the heavy weight Aristotelis was balancing on his head, he still managed to entertain the crowd with his dance moves.
After the last tray was placed on top, he kept the tower balanced for 20 seconds – double the minimum time requirement needed for the record.
To become the newest record holder, Aristotelis didn’t have to move or stand – let alone dance – while balancing the glasses, making his feat even more impressive.
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He said afterwards he enjoys the thrill of seeing the tension in the faces of the onlookers while his dancing with all the glassware balanced on his head.
His preparation for the record attempt
In preparation for the record attempt, he trained his neck in exercises that saw him balance a 50kg barrel of sand hanging from a tree on his head daily for five minutes.
When Aristotelis first started glass dancing nearly 30 years ago, he accidentally smashed one of his grandmother’s old water glasses – and quickly bought his own afterwards.
Even now, glasses still get smashed during his performances. He said sometimes they shatter because of his assistant or himself, but most of the time due to audience members he invites to put a glass on top.
Still hungry for more
Despite already being a record holder now, Aristotelis set his sight on two more challenges: most glasses balanced on the head in a single stack and most whisky glasses balanced on the head.
He will need to balance 25 glasses for the former and 270 glasses for the latter.
While there currently are no record holders for either of these to beat, it is likely the entertainer won’t 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 told Guinness World Records.
