On 14 February 2026, the ballet “Lazgi. Dance of Soul and Love” will be presented on the stage of the Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg, Austria, performed by the National Ballet of Uzbekistan.
The production offers a unique artistic interpretation of the ancient Uzbek dance Lazgi, inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. With a history spanning more than three thousand years, Lazgi embodies spiritual strength, wisdom, and the profound depth of a living tradition passed down from generation to generation.
Under the direction of renowned German choreographer and ballet master Raúl Raimondo Rebec, and set to the mesmerizing music of composer Davidson Giaconello, the performance seamlessly merges the ancient Lazgi dance with the elegance of classical ballet. This fusion creates a contemporary stage language through which the richness and diversity of Uzbek culture are vividly revealed.
The ballet’s narrative transports audiences to the distant past, to the era of the Great Silk Road, where, amid desert sands and enchanting shamanic melodies, Love and the immortal Soul are born, beginning their eternal dance. This journey from antiquity to the present symbolizes the continuity of traditions, the bond between generations, and the spiritual memory of a people. In the finale, Love and the Soul unite in harmonious wholeness, embodying the triumph of life, culture, and enduring universal values.
The production premiered in Tashkent in 2021 and immediately received wide international acclaim. It has since been staged at the Dubai Opera and presented in Istanbul, Bursa, Dortmund, Paris, Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Beijing, Baku, and London, becoming one of Uzbekistan’s most recognizable cultural projects on the global stage.
The international creative team behind the project brings together outstanding masters of ballet and performing arts. Unique choreography, striking stage design, sophisticated lighting, and contemporary multimedia technologies form a large-scale artistic canvas that enhances the emotional impact of the performance and transforms it into a cultural event of global significance.
The Salzburg performance marks an important milestone in international cultural dialogue and offers yet another opportunity to present Uzbekistan’s rich intangible heritage to European audiences.
