Innsbruck Winter Dance Festival 2024

Innsbruck dances - because dancing connects and touches. These emotions form the basis for the creation of the Innsbruck Winter Dance Festival. A festival that will develop Innsbruck and its surroundings into a region of dance in the coming years. The kick-off for the festival will take place in February 2024 with the premiere of the show Lagrimas Negras. A dance theatre full of romance, melancholy and enchanting Cuban live music.

It tells the story of the Valdes family, who have shaped Cuba's musical heritage over three generations. It illustrates the island's turmoil from 1920 to the present day. The fate of Bebo Valdes, who was never able to return to the island after fleeing in 1961, mirrors that of many Cuban families. His late musical comeback with Diego Cigala and son Chucho Valdes went down in music history. His grandson Cucurucho Valdes is now responsible for the live musical accompaniment to the dance theatre alongside Ray Fernandez. "This will be a very special production for me. I had the privilege of working as a dancer in Cuba and was able to experience many touching stories, such as that of the legendary Valdes family, at first hand. It is a great honour for me to be able to tell this great Cuban story together with his grandson in my home city of Innsbruck," says the artistic director of the festival, Enrique Gasa Valga, who has engaged 14 internationally renowned dancers (Limonada Dance Company) for this world premiere.