María Jesús Pagés Madrigal (born 28 July 1963 in Seville, Spain), better known as María Pagés, is a modern Spanish dancer and choreographer and one of the most internationally renowned Flamenco artists in the world. She is considered the paramount representative of

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

vanguard. Internationally acclaimed for her personal aesthetic concept of this dance, she has proven to be the leading pioneer in the understanding of this art as an evolution, contemporary and alive, making her a leading innovator of modern flamenco. She founded her own dance company in 1990, now based in

Madrid, Spain Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, while performing worldwide. In 2014 she was awarded with the

Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts (Spain) The Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts ( es, Medalla de Oro al Mérito en las Bellas Artes, link=no) is awarded by the Ministry of Culture and Sport of Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escud ...

by the Spanish State through the Ministry of Culture.

Life and career

María Jesús Pagés Madrigal was born in

Seville, Spain Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, and began dancing professionally with the Antonio Gades Company. She choreographed for films including '' Carmen'', ''

El Amor Brujo ''El amor brujo'' (, "The sorcerer love") is a ballet by Manuel de Falla to a libretto by María de la O Lejárraga García, although for years it was attributed to her husband Gregorio Martínez Sierra. It exists in three versions as well as a p ...

'' and ''

Flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

'' by

Carlos Saura Carlos Saura Atarés (born 4 January 1932) is a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. Along with Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be one of Spain’s most renowned filmmakers. He has a long and prolific career t ...

, and in 1990 she established the Maria Pagés Company. Her work is described as incorporating the national flamenco style with outside influences. María Pagés and her company have toured internationally, appearing in the United States at the

Baryshnikov Arts Center The Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) is a foundation and arts complex opened by Mikhail Baryshnikov in 2005 at 450 West 37th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The top three floo ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and

The Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, among other venues. In 1995 the expanded version of the ''

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions Je ...

'' show included performance by the company to music of Irish style composed by

Bill Whelan Bill Whelan (born 22 May 1950 in Limerick, Ireland) is an Irish composer and musician. He is best known for composing a piece for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. The result, ''Riverdance'', was a seven-minute display of tradi ...

. In 2000 she provided choreography for the ''Hispanic Heritage Awards''. Pagés serves on the board of the Cultural Council in Madrid.

Honors and awards

*1996 - National Choreography Award * Giraldillos Awards, Giennale of Arte Flamenco (four times) *2002 - National Dance Award *2004 -

Leonid Massine Leonid (russian: Леонид ; uk, Леонід ; be, Леанід, Ljeaníd ) is a Slavic version of the given name Leonidas. The French version is Leonide. People with the name include: *Leonid Andreyev (1871–1919), Russian playwright a ...

Award, Italy *2005 - Flamenco Awards, VI Edition *2005 - Premios Flamenco Hoy, VI *2006 - Cultura Viva Award *2007 - Premio Cultura, Community of Madrid *2011 - International Award Terenci Moix *2011 - Medal of Andalucía *2014 -

*2022 -

Princess of Asturias Award The Princess of Asturias Awards ( es, Premios Princesa de Asturias, links=no, ast, Premios Princesa d'Asturies, links=no), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 ( es, Premios Príncipe de Asturias, links=no), are a series of a ...

in the category "Arts".Princess of Asturias Award 2022
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Works

Selected works include: *''Sol y sombra'' (1990) *''De la luna al viento'' (1994) *''Riverdance'' (1995-1996) *''El perro andaluz, Burlerías'' (1996) *''La tirana'' (1998) *''Flamenco Republic'' (2001) *''Ilusiones FM'' (2002) *''Canciones, antes de una guerra'' (2004) *''Sevilla'' (2006) *''Autorretrato'' (2008) *''Flamenco y Poesía'' (2008) *''Dunas'' (2009) *''Mirada'' (2010) *''Utopia'' (2011) *''Yo, Carmen'' (2018)

Filmography

Pagés has appeared in television and films including: *''Miradas 2'' (TV series documentary) (2010–11) *''A escena'' (TV series) (2010) *''Ànima'' (TV series) (2009) *''Plácido y la copla'' (TV movie) (2008) *''La mandrágora'' (TV series)(2006) *''The Late Late Show'' (TV series) (2003) *''Riverdance: The New Show'' (1996) *''Riverdance: The Show'' (1995) *''Flamenco'' (1995)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pages, Maria 1963 births Living people Contemporary dance choreographers Modern dancers Spanish choreographers Spanish female dancers