Flamenco and the goddess of fertility

As a young girl Rosanna Maya never walked, opting to skip, hop or dance everywhere, much to her mother's flustered amusement.

Now in her early 40s, Ms Maya probably still spends more of her waking hours dancing flamenco, a medium she feels allows her to bring out her emotions.

She discovered this sensual, yet controlled, dance form at 15 after training classical ballet and she felt it suited her style so perfectly she fell in love with all things Spanish.

"I flew to Madrid from South Africa where I trained in one of the best schools. I dyed my blonde hair black, spoke the language and dated Spanish men - it took me a while to understand that I'll never be considered Spanish and will never be fully integrated in their world," she enthused.

So 15 years ago when she received an invitation from Tanya Bayona to come to Malta to teach flamenco, she saw it as a new opportunity to share her passion.

"I fell in love with the island's rich cultural heritage and Malta gave me the liberty to express myself through this medium," she said.

Now a Maltese citizen and running her own company, the Alegria Academia Flamenca, Ms Maya is still in awe of the island's history and she is thrilled to be performing in the courtyard of the Palace, in Valletta, in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund.

Called Waking Up The Lady, the 75-minute, uninterrupted performance, under the patronage of Dr and Mrs Eddie Fenech Adami, will be held on July 8 and 10 at 8.30 p.m. with tickets going on sale tomorrow.

The performance will include the participation of nine other female dancers, two guitarists - Pepe El Tiburon and Alex Mizzi - and pianist Geoffrey Mizzi. Ms Maya explained that the programme will be split into two parts: the first would be a journey through Spain and the second is inspired by the Hypogeum's The Sleeping Lady.

In the first part Ms Maya will take the audience through an uplifting, visual journey of regional and classical flamenco as she narrates the story of its evolution.

She feels it is her duty as a borrower of this beautiful art to put this dance into context and share it with the Maltese audience, whom she believes are really drawn to the fiery elements of flamenco.

"Flamenco is a dance created under the great sorrow of the Spanish Inquisition and since then it has evolved at such an incredible rate from a regional folk dance into a sophisticated art," she explained.

In the second part, Ms Maya has found the occasion to awaken the goddess of fertility in a spectacular Spanish dance, linking the old passage of time with Spain and Malta today.

"The Sleeping Lady's peaceful demeanour depicts the passage from life to death with convincing composure, which is extremely inspiring," she added.

Ms Maya and her team is hoping the audience will walk away from the performance taking with them a little bit of Spain.

Tickets at Lm7.50 are available from the MCCF offices at the Palace and St James Cavalier, both in Valletta. For bookings call on 2123 1350 or 2124 0568. After the show, the public will have the opportunity to visit the Palace state rooms.