Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck Give Buena Vista Social Club's Choreography New Life on Tour

The Buena Vista Social Club North American tour is officially underway, with Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck bringing their Tony-winning choreography across the nation. The married couple spoke to Broadway.com Managing Editor Beth Stevens about welcoming a new company and the personal connection they have to the material. They also invited us into the rehearsal room to see the tour cast in action.

For Delgado, the audition process revealed how much this world already means to the performers stepping into it. “It was just these rooms full of so much Latin talent and passion and hunger,” she says. Working with artists who know and love the show presented an opportunity to preserve its choreography while making room for new interpretations. “We wanted to stay true to the original and at the same time give this new cast the freedom to call it their own.”

That freedom comes with a deeper understanding of what each movement communicates. With distance from the original creation process, Peck saw an opportunity to sharpen the storytelling for the tour. “Having stepped away from the show and now coming back to it, we're able to see it more clearly,” he says. “We can really go into the room with this new cast and articulate exactly what each gesture means in relation to the story.”

“The choreography does a lot to add some connective tissue to help audiences understand what's happening with these characters,” Peck explains. The movement draws on a range of Cuban dance traditions, encompassing modern dance, social dances, Afro-Cuban dances and classical ballet. “We wanted it to really blend and feel fluid and seamless using moments from the historic movement that could help tell the story.”

Finding that fluidity began with the choreographers working through the movement together step by step. “Any chance to dance with Justin is my favorite thing,” says Delgado. Their connection to the music traces back to their wedding, where their first dance was to a song from the Buena Vista Social Club and expanded to include Delgado’s family. This history also helps guide her work with the company. “I wanted them to learn the steps, but also feel the intention of every step, feel what the storytelling was, feel the specificity of it.”

Bringing this story across the country carries particular significance for Delgado, whose Cuban American heritage informed her exploration of the show. Researching the project in Cuba helped her connect her lifelong love of dance and music to her roots; sharing it now offers another kind of connection. “It's just a window into a culture and a world that you can't go visit today,” she says. “That's the power of art, the power of theater and a way to keep history alive and keep healing.”

The show features songs from the Grammy-winning album including “Lágrimas Negras,” “Bruca Maniguá,” “Dos Gardenias,” “Chan Chan" and the dance-heavy "Qué Bueno Baila Usted," which the cast performed exclusively for Broadway.com.

Watch below!