August 10, 2017

This fall we will welcome world renowned Flamenco dancer, artist, and teacher, Belén Maya, for a month full of performances, master classes and engagements. Maya has performed the world over during the past three decades after bursting onto the scene in Carlos Sauro's masterpiece movie, FLAMENCO. This contemporary artist employs innovative movement and conceptual explorations to expand flamenco's historical conventions. Maya has become one of the most important international choreographers, pioneering its emergence as a contemporary art form. Her work is immersive with distinct attention to the music, staging, narrative, performance, and language in her repertoire.   "Considered one of the most important contemporary flamenco artists in the world, Belén Maya has pushed the limits of this art form through her constant quest for innovation," wrote Broadway World Los Angeles in a July 2017 review.

As a 2017 Rankin Scholar in Residence, Maya will bring two performances of her celebrated one woman show, Romnia, to the Black Box Theater in October. Romnia, or woman in the romani language, takes a complex and deeply emotive look into the historical narrative of the Gypsy woman, countering joy with the courage to survive. Tickets to both performances are available for purchase here. In addition to Romnia, Maya will co-teach a Flamenco dance course for Drexel students with Elba Hevia y Vaca, the artistic director of Philadelphia's Pasión Y Arte Flamenco company, while offering master classes for the campus and Philadelphia communities at large. In addition, Maya will bring her innovative approach to Flamenco dance to the classrooms and departments of various schools and colleges across the University, furthering her interdisciplinary engagement on campus.

Belén Maya's residence is made possible through a grant from the Rankin Scholar In Residence Program, supported by donations from alumni and colleagues of Dean Rankin to inspire students and to deepen our understanding of developments and thinking within our diverse design, media, and art fields. Dance Program Director, Valerie Ifill, and Dean Allen Sabinson organized this residency.

If you’d like to support the Rankin program, you can make a contribution here or by mailing a donation payable to Drexel University to: Dean Sabinson // URBN Center, 3501 Market Street 1A20A // Philadelphia PA, 19104. For more information please contact Nik Kozel at ngk25@drexel.edu. 

Romnia //Fri. Oct. 13th & Sat. Oct. 14th // URBN Annex Black Box Theater // 3401 Filbert St. // Gen. Admin $25.00 & Students, $15.00  

Drexel Fall Dance Course // Flamenco Dance Technique (DANC T180-001) // Open to all Drexel students 

Master Class: Flamenco // 418 Main Building // Tues. Oct. 17th // 6-8PM //  Open to members of the Drexel Dance Ensembles and Dance/Movement Therapy graduate students

Fall Lecture-Demonstration: Flamenco: creative process. Transformation. Collaboration. Choreography composition in contemporary flamenco. 

Thurs. Oct. 19th // 7-8:30PM // Mandell Theater // Free and open to the public