On the upcoming New Year's Eve - December 31^st, the Spanish dancer María Pagés will lead her dance troupe stepping on the stage of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) and will bring the revelry of Flamenco - Dance of Hearts, igniting the fiery passion for the New Year.

María Pagés will return to the NCPA with her dance troupe on New Year’s Eve

Flamenco, as a performance, integrates three artistic forms - dancing, singing and instrumental accompaniment, and is regarded as the most characteristic symbol of Spanish culture. Speaking of Flamenco, Pagés is the “soul figure” who makes it shine worldwide. Her efforts to improve Flamenco and bring it to theatre have further popularized the Gypsy rover-rooted artistic form; and the generous, passionate and independent attitude of life embodied in the dance that have inspired countless audiences who hold love and expectations for life. In April 2008, Pagés appeared at the NCPA to perform Sevilla, a Flamenco dance choreographed on the background of her hometown. It is also the NCPA’s first foreign representative dance performance since its opening. In 2014 and 2016, Pagés and her troupe had also brought two representative works - Autorretrato and Yo, Carmen respectively.

María Pagés, a brilliant flamenco dancer and choreographer

Dance of Hearts, a Flamenco dance performance, is elaborately created by Pagés to mark the occasion of the 10^th anniversary of the inauguration of the NCPA. Permeating with a festival atmosphere, it is a poem about love and passion. The inspiration of the creation is derived from the native Flamenco tradition, which tells a story of life and expresses the strong wish of harmonious coexistence between human and self, and the world. A total of 10 passages of the work will be performed by five female dancers including Pagés herself, four male dancers and six musicians. In the part of the dance, Dance of Hearts underscores accuracy and colorfulness. From the beginning to the subsequent development, the entire dance is orderly in rhythm while also contains improvisations, a unique characteristic of Flamenco. With the accompaniment of the band, the two female singers will perform 10 traditional songs with national features. In the aspect of instruments, there are a guitar, percussion and violin, in which the heart-touching guitar acts as the core of the Flamenco show, while the poetic violin performance and the metrical box drum performance brace up the structure of the whole riveting dance performance.