Successful premiere of the Innsbruck Winter Dance Festival

The first edition of the Innsbruck Winter Dance Festivals has been a success, says a delighted Enrique Gasa Valga. And "Lágrimas Negras", the first production of the company he founded Limonada Dance Companywas successfully premiered. Cuban rhythms and an increasingly fast-paced dance ensemble swept the audience away. The events in the run-up to the festival were also extremely well attended, be it the culinary evening at the Umbrüggler Alm, the dance evening at Café Central or the piano evening with Cucurucho Valdés at the Piano Bar in the old town - to name just a few of the highlights of the side events.

"I am very pleased with the first edition. We had a full house at every event, everyone danced, enjoyed the music and the shared love of dance. Our performances in Saal Tirol were also sold out. At every performance, I could feel how much the audience enjoyed the talent of our dancers and musicians. It was exciting to realize once again how much love we can receive and share for what we do," Gasa Valga sums up.

And the production radiated far beyond Tyrol, he adds: "I was thrilled to see people in the audience from Vienna, Germany, Spain, Italy, Liechtenstein, France, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Cuba and Mexico who came all this way to enjoy our show."

The ensemble had been working towards the premiere of "Lágrimas Negras" for months ( click here for the interview with dancer Sandra Chamochumbi Castro). And even though Tyrolean audiences have been familiar with Enrique Gasa Valga and his style for many years, this premiere was something very special. Because with the change in directorship at the Tiroler Landestheater, it was time for the popular choreographer to move on to new shores. Spurred on by a loyal fan base and supported by sponsors, including the Innsbruck Tourist Board, the Catalan-born choreographer founded Innsbruck Winter Dance Festival. The premiere of "Lágrimas Negras" was the baptism of fire, so to speak.

Gasa Valga has hit the bull's eye with a piece about the Cuban Valdés family of musicians: an emotional, exciting story, powerfully underscored with Cuban rhythms - performed live by the ensemble around the charismatic Cuban singer Ray Fernandez and accompanied by pianist Cucurucho Valdés. He, in turn, is a three-time Grammy nominee and grandson of Bebo Valdés (1918-2013), whose life story is at the center of "Lágrimas Negras".

Bebo Valdés is a legend. The outstanding pianist ran the popular Tropicana nightclub in Havana from 1948. Valdés wrote catchy jazz, mambo and bolero piecesfor his club - today classics of Cuban music. When Fidel Castro took power in Cuba in 1959, Valdés saw no future for himself and left the country, while his family remained in Cuba.

After marrying Rose Marie Pehrson, he settled in Sweden. Valdés was unable to build on his great successes there. However, he made another breakthrough in the mid-1990s, followed by a late international career and numerous recordings.

A very special moment in "Lágrimas Negras" is the meeting of Bebo Valdés with his son Chucho - movingly portrayed by the two dancers Addison Ector (Bebo) and Cosme Tablada (Chucho). Chucho Valdés had risen to become a well-known, award-winning musician in Cuba and had not seen his father for many years. The album "Juntos Para Siempre", which they recorded together, won the Latin Grammy.

These are just a few scenes from the show that encapsulates the life of Valdés. The audience's enthusiasm grows with each one. Not least because the rhythms really get you moving and the dancers on the cantilevered stage get very close to the guests. An exuberant, enthusiastic atmosphere at the finale and standing ovations for the band, ensemble and, of course, Enrique Gasa Valga at the end of the performance.

As we all know, after the festival is before the next one. The first ideas are already being collected, as Gasa Valga explains: "Yes, plans are underway ... At the moment we are talking to various companies and choreographers that we would like to invite to Innsbruck. My side and the team are discussing various ways of involving the Tyrolean dance community in our Winter Dance Festival, as we have already done this year." However, it is still too early to be specific. The team first needs and deserves some time off"to come back soon and rock the house with new and exciting concepts ". The fan community can therefore look forward with anticipation.