The first Innsbruck Winter Dance Festival in February 2024 was a complete success! Within a very short space of time, an idea turned into something unique and magnificent, the extent of which is far from exhausted. There is so much to tell and to present through dance in an emotional, powerful and entertaining way.

"The success of last year's festival, the many enthusiastic visitors and the great positive response, encourages us to make next year's festival even more diverse," explains artistic director and audience favorite Enrique Gasa Valga.

Gasa Valga has big plans for the coming year: With his Limonada Dance Company, the artistic director is bringing a new dance production to the stage: Dorian Gray. The dance piece is inspired by Oscar Wilde's story of a man who is given eternal youth by a magical portrait, while the painting in his place ages and shows the effects of his moral transgressions. In this world premiere, Gasa Valga stages the pursuit of pleasure and selfishness that ultimately leads to Dorian Gray's downfall. Gasa Valga illustrates the cult of youth and beauty and its dark consequences, which seem more relevant than ever from today's perspective, in an exciting and at the same time depressing way. Australian-born Locke Venturato will take on the leading role in the dance piece. He has been a permanent member of the Limonada Dance Company since October 2024 and is already being celebrated as an exceptional talent.

As an international act, Gasa Valga was able to welcome the renowned star choreographer Ilya Jivoy with his piece Carmina Burana for the festival. Inspired by Carl Orff's masterpiece, Ilya Jivoy's ballet transports the audience into a world in which frenetic rhythms, overwhelming emotions and the universal themes of love, fate and human nature are hypnotically interwoven on stage.

In addition, due to the great demand Lágrimas Negras will be restaged as part of the festival as an introduction to the new season. This closes the circle: we start where we left off a year ago.