Gala de Danza, the international dance, music, and art festival, will have its London première on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 June at Central Hall Westminster.
Founded by former American Ballet Theatre dancer Christina Lyon, the festival will fuse classical ballet, contemporary dance, opera and Latin ballroom with a line-up including Principals of The Royal Ballet Cesar Corrales, Francesca Hayward and Melissa Hamilton, from New York City Ballet Andres Zuniga and Principal Emma Von Enck, Principal of Bayerisches Staatsballett Jinhao Zhang, Paris Opera Ballet artist Shale Wagman and English National Ballet Soloist Vsevolod Maievskyi.
There will also be work from choreographer Juliano Nunes, who has created works for The Royal Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Glastonbury performance last year, as well as for artists Penelope Cruz and FKA Twigs.
The programme features a world première by Emma Evelein performed by Rambert and a new work by Jade Hale-Christofi with music by composer Ilan Eshkeri performed by Jinhao Zhang, the 2024 United Kingdom Professional Latin Champions Anton Sboev & Patrizia Ranis, French choreographer Sadeck Berrabah and his Murmuration—a work that transforms human movement into visual art—and Braylon Browner who finished in the top eight of So You Think You Can Dance in 2024.
Musicians include William Close and The Earth Harp, Jakub Józef Orliński, the Polish countertenor who bridges classical music and pop culture, and guitarist Marcin. Sculptor David Begbie will showcase his distinctive wire-mesh artworks in the foyer of Central Hall Westminster.
Lyon said, “after over a decade of redefining dance and live performance in Mexico, Gala de Danza is now making its mark on the global stage. London, with its rich dance tradition and international audience, is the ideal destination to expand our vision of artistic excellence.”