Belén Maya (born 1966) is a Spanish
flamenco dance
Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...
r, choreographer and educator.
Biography
She is the daughter of
Mario Maya, a Romani flamenco dancer,
and Carmen Mora, also a flamenco dancer. She was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
while her parents were on tour performing. Maya began dancing while still young and studied classical, Hindu and contemporary dance in Italy, Germany and England. She also studied at the Amor de Dios school in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
with teachers including
Goyo Montero. She joined the
Spanish National Ballet, later joining her father's company. She then formed her own company, going on tour in Japan; she next joined the Andalusian Dance Company.
In 1995 she was chosen as one of the representatives of the new aesthetics of flamenco in
''Flamenco'', a documentary by
Carlos Saura. According to Saura, "it doesn't seem like flamenco," which is why he justified the choice to put her on the film's promotional poster.
In 1997, she formed a company with singer
Mayte Martín which performed at major festivals in 2002 and 2003.
She studied with Juan Carlos Lérida.
In 2014, her show ''Los Invitados'' received the Critic's Award at the Festival de Jerez.
In 2015, she was chosen as the best dancer at the Premios Flamenco Hoy by the Crítica Nacional de Flamenco.
Maya recently stopped performing to focus on lectures on contemporary flamenco and gender issues, particularly in the United States.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maya, Belen
1966 births
Living people
Spanish female dancers
Spanish choreographers
Spanish women choreographers
Spanish flamenco dancers
20th-century Spanish dancers
20th-century Spanish women
21st-century Spanish dancers
21st-century Spanish women
Spanish people of Romani descent