Name: Gema
City, country: Valencia
Question: María, you were given the National Dance Prize for Creation. Did you feel it to be a responsibility? I’m tired of hearing that "everything’s been invented". Do you think that’s the way it is, or, to the contrary, that there’s still a lot to be done in flamenco dancing? Thanks. Best wishes.
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María Pagés: I think the phrase “everything’s been invented” is quite fatalistic and probably a product of those who aren’t able to invent. Luckily flamenco is a lively, current artform in full evolution; we still have a lot left to see and live in this artform with a huge potential for creativity and all of it will continue in the generations that will follow us, perhaps growing in a less numerous but more selective way.
Kind regards, Gema, and see you soon.

Name: Anne
City, country: France
Question: María, whenever I see your shows I notice how original the wardrobe is. Are they ideas of yours? What role does it play in your shows? Can flamenco also be renovated from the wardrobe design?
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María Pagés: I’ve always liked getting really involved in the wardrobe; in many shows they’re ideas of mine and I follow them really closely. In ‘Autorretrato’ and ‘Dunas’, which are the latest shows, I’ve enjoyed myself a great deal. I work with a color artist named María Calderón who does all the colors and patterns by hand. I often go to her workshop and I have the impression of going into a world of magic; I like it and as I’ve told you, I really enjoy myself. Also, in other shows like ‘Sevilla’, I had the collaboration of another great artist, painter Christian Olivares; he designed much of the wardrobe for ‘Sevilla’ and I think it’s masterful. Specifically, one of his designs, that of the song ‘Maestranza’, inspired me with the idea for its choreography. It’s normally the other way around; the wardrobes are done after the choreography has been created. In this case, as you can see, the influence was really evident. At any rate, I always look for it to be comfortable and at the service of the choreography; that’s fundamental. Beyond fashion, there’s the esthetics, good taste, and for it to be another element of creation.
Thanks for your question, Anne, kind regards

Name: Marisa
City, country: New York
Question: María, Do you plan to do something special with your company to celebrate its 20th anniversary?
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María Pagés: The 20 years have to be celebrated in grand fashion, and more so now at this point in time which I think might be one of the company’s best moments. We’ll premiere a creation dedicated to it at Seville’s Teatro Maestranza in June which we’ll take on a tour of Japan in autumn.
We’ll be at New York’s City Center in February. Best wishes, Marisa.

Name: Diego
City, country: Barcelona
Question: Hi, María. I saw the show ‘Dunas’, the best thing I’ve seen lately. Congratulations!!! What was the experience like with Sidi?
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María Pagés: It’s been a unique, special experience with Larbi, based on respect, admiration and curiosity, something we coincide on and which has made us work really well, enjoying ourselves with delight. I know it isn’t easy to unite two worlds the way we’ve done with freedom, without prejudices, without the pre-established obstacles, but everything’s flowed for us without any problems or difficulties. We’ve worked in another dimension where it’s the dancing that moves us and not a specific style; I think that’s the most interesting thing about it.
We’ll be back in Catalonia at the Grec, with ‘Dunas’. Kind regards to you, Diego.

Name: Suzzanne
City, country: Canadá
Question: Please recommend us music to study flamenco dancing, some CDs we should have in our collection to be able to understand and enjoy this artform better. Thanks!
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María Pagés: To dance, it’s fundamental to listen to a lot of cante, classical cante mainly and also to know its evolution. Listen to Tomás Pavón, La Niña de los Peines, Antonio Mairena, and also Enrique Morente, Camarón, Carmen Linares… In their more classical albums and anthologies, these latter ones seem the most interesting to me and you can find them easily.
Kind regards, Suzzanne, we’ll be in Vancouver in February.

Name: Mari
City, country: Málaga
Question: Hi, María. My question is: what is the best way to learn real flamenco dancing? At academies? In courses at city halls? Is it true that someone who hasn’t been born into a world where he’s surrounded by flamenco can’t have that "duende" (magic) flamencos have?
Thanks in advance.
MARI. an admirer of yours.
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María Pagés: Flamenco, like any artform, isn’t just something you can learn at academies, although there are really good ones. You have to train, it’s true, you have to put in a lot of effort and study and rehearse a lot. Flamenco, moreover, is something really localized and it needs to be breathed in its environment. Its environment is always revolving around its world, its origins, its evolution and it feeds on itself; I therefore understand when you ask if it’s really hard to be a part of flamenco if you’re not surrounded by it. That world I’m referring to is extending more and more and is becoming more widespread. To learn, take advantage of the good academies there are, and the interesting courses.
Thanks for asking, Mari, and enjoy baile; it’s worthwhile.

Name: Manuel
City, country: Madrid
Question: Hi, María. No artist likes to give names, but we enthusiasts love to be recommended good artists that we should get to know. Give us some names, at least 3 each of (not famous) bailaores and bailaoras that we shouldn’t miss. Thanks for the shows you do.
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María Pagés: José Barrios, José Antonio Jurado, Alberto Ruiz and Paco Berbel. María Morales, Sonia Fernández, Isabel Rodríguez, María del Mar Jurado. They’re the company’s bailaores and when the tours allow them to, they work on and offer their own shows.
Thank you, Manuel, for your interest.

Name: Candela
City, country: Madrid, Spain
Question: Hi, María. I saw 'Autorretrato' in Jerez and the pictures number really touched me. Can you explain to me what it means? Thank you for your art.
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María Pagés: The pictures represent my origin, my history, my ancestors, represented in those photos surrounding you since you were a little girl. My mother has all of my family’s history represented on the walls of her living room, with countless framed photos of us all, christenings, weddings, birthdays, family gatherings. It’s like an album where our history is being told and it gets bigger as the family grows. It’s really curious, when I started putting together ‘Autorretrato’, I thought of all that and the image of those golden frames came to mind which you’ve seen in the show.
Thank you, it’s really good that like you’ve done, the public asks these questions; everything’s more interesting this way and upon knowing the answer, you’ve known and enjoyed it better and more.

Name: Mostafa
City, country: Morocco
Question: I love seeing your baile. Are you planning to release a DVD of your bailes so as to be able to see them?
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María Pagés: We have a lot of audiovisual material from the Company and from the creations. To celebrate our anniversary next year, we’re going to release them. The DVD of ‘Autorretrato’, our latest show, will come out soon; you’ll have news of it at our website www.mariapages.com.
Thanks, Mostafa, for your interest; lately we’ve gone to Morocco frequently and we’ll be back in 2010.

Name: Alfredo
City, country: Barcelona
Question: What’s the hardest part about doing a new show? Structuring, giving it a global sense, choreographing the group bailes? I also wanted to know the names of the dancers you’ve used in the last few years; I think they’re nearly always the same ones and they do it really well.
Kind regards
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María Pagés: Each show has its features, its own development and its own life, so it’s different for each and every one of them. It depends on the format, on the artists who perform, etc. But in any case, I think the hardest thing is to find moderation, harmony in the show, that which we usually call achieving a well-rounded show, where all the elements coming into play, from the choreography, music, lighting, wardrobe, and of course, the performers and technicians work in unison and in a sort of harmony as I say created for this to be that way.
It’s true that the company is really stable and normally those who join it stay for a long time, but also because it’s good for everyone and necessary, there’s continuous renewal. At this point in time, the bailaores are: María Morales, Sonia Fernández, Isabel Rodríguez, María del Mar Jurado, José Barrios, José Antonio Jurado, Alberto Ruiz and Paco Berbel.
Best wishes, Alfredo, and I’ll have you know that we’ll soon be in Barcelona.