Belén Maya

The daughter of two great flamenco artists, Carmen Mora and Mario Maya, Belén Maya began her dance studies at the renowned studio Amor de Dios in Madrid. She has studied  ballet as well as classical Spanish dance, jazz and contemporary dance. Her flamenco teachers have included Paco Fernández, Manolete, La Tati, El Güito, Carmén Cortés, La Toná, and many others.

Maya studied at the School of the Spanish National Ballet, and later relocated to Seville in order to focus on flamenco. She joined her father’s Mario Maya Company, where within three years she became principal dancer. Meanwhile, she also gained experience in the tablaos of Seville.

Maya spent six months in Tokyo at the tablao Flamenco of Tokyo, and upon returning from Japan, became the principal for the Dance Company of Andalucía. She was invited by Carlos Saura to represent the new generation of flamenco in his film Flamenco. Belén's performance in this film would become a milestone in flamenco dance as interpreted by women, opening new avenues in terms of concept, musicality, movement, and costuming.

In 1996, she formed company comprised entirely of bailaoras: Yolanda Heredia, Teresa Nieto, Rafaela Carrasco, and Isabel Bayón.  In 1997 she was invited by Mayte Martín to the Grec Festival in Barcelona. From this pivotal collaboration was born a shared company, Mayte Martín and Belén Maya. Their collaborations have received outstanding critical praise at venues such as the Festival of Jerez (2002 and 2003), the Royal Theatre of Madrid, the Grec Theatre of Barcelona, the Autumn Festival of Madrid, the Central Theatre and Lope de Vega Theatre of Seville, the Music and Dance Festival of Granada, Teatre de la Ville of Paris, the Spai of Barcelona, and New York’s Symphony Space.

In 2004, Maya participated in Los Caminos de Lorca (The Paths of Lorca) with the Dance Company of Andalucía under the direction of Pepa Gamboa and performed in the premiere of Fuera de Los Límites (Beyond Boundaries) together with Rafaela Carrasco under the direction of Ramón Oller. In 2005 she presented the show Dibujos (Drawings), in Madrid as part of the Summers at La Villa series to both public and critical acclaim. In 2006 this was restaged and premiered at the 10th Flamenco Festival in Jerez.