From July 23 to August 1, the event Danzatlán 2022: International Festival of Dance will take place in the cities of Texcoco, Huixquilucan and Toluca in México state, and at the National Center of Arts (Cenart) in Mexico City.

The festival is a project of the Culture and Tourism Ministry of México state in collaboration with the Elisa Carrillo Foundation. Elisa Carillo is one of Mexico’s best known promoters of dance. She has earned many prestigious awards around the world including being the first Mexican to be named prima ballerina in the Berlin State Ballet, one of the most important ballet companies in the world.

The Elisa Carillo Foundation regularly hosts two major events to support and encourage dance in Mexico. Danzatlán, a yearly extravaganza with classes, shows, and round-table discussions, was forced to go virtual in 2020 and partly virtual, partly in-person in 2021.

“After everything that we have been through in the past two years during the pandemic, it’s marvelous for the public to have this opportunity,” said the ballerina in a recent interview.

This year’s festival will include many highlights including a piece called #The_Wall, choreographed by Yeri Anarika and interpreted by Carillo herself on July 23 at 7 p.m.

“This is a contemporary piece and it’s very important for our festival because we are trying something different, something new,” said Carillo.

There will also a presentation of Bolero, a dance choreographed by Maurice Béjart to the music of Bolero, an orchestral piece composed by French composer Maurice Ravel in the 1920s. The dance gala “Elisa and Friends” will include five internationally renowned dancers — Marcelo Gomes, Lucía Lacarra, Herman Cornejo, Kimin Kin and Carrillo — all winners of the Benois de la Danse prize. That event will take place in Toluca on July 31 and in the Elisa Carrillo concert hall at the México state Bicentennial Cultural Center (CCMB) as part of the closing of the festival.

Entrance into events is free to the public. The list of events will be posted on the festival’s official Facebook page and other social media platforms.

With reports from El Universal and Proceso