Maria Pages is a familiar name even for non-flamenco fans, perhaps because her performances have been seen in the movies Carmen, The Blood Wedding and The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway.
A lot of dance fans also know Pages from her graceful gestures and fast stomps in Riverdance. She is famous for her solid flamenco dancing and her blend of modern and jazz dance.
In 1996, Pages was awarded the National Award of Dance of Spain and was the first flamenco dancer to take the honor.
In her first visit to Taiwan, Pages brings two of her recent productions:Flamenco Republic, today, and La Tirana tomorrow and Sunday.
In a way, Flamenco Republic is more of a pure dance than La Tirana.
In the words of Pages, the repertoire is "a look inside ourselves, at what we have, where we come from. I needed to satisfy that curiosity I always felt about how we dance or how we sing."
La Tirana features Maria Pages and her company of nine dancers. It is a story inspired by a painting by the Spanish painter Goya, at the Prado Museum.
An intrepid young man is fascinated by the portrait of a lady and imagines conversations with her. One night, he deceives the guards and decides to spend the night in the museum to declare his love for the Duchess. The love of the visitor is so intense, that the painting takes life, and the woman awakes and leaves the painting to dance for one night of blissful passion.
Tickets are selling fast for the event at Taipei's National Theater of CKS Cultural Center.
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