Kelly Apter

deemed a pioneer for the genre, respecting the Andalusian traditions she grew up with but always seeking new ways to explore the dance she loves.

Even when Pagés joined the Riverdance team in 1995 as a guest artist, it was purely because she wanted to see how flamenco dance and Irish music could come together. “I remember at the very beginning, talking to the composer Bill Whelan,” she recalls. “And at that time I was very curious about how flamenco could be danced to other music – and he arrived at just the right time. So I decided to try dancing to Irish music with all those fantastic musicians. I signed my first contract for six weeks – and they’re still dancing it now.”

It’s a spirit of exploration and acceptance of other artforms and styles that Pagés feels is totally in keeping with flamenco itself.

“Flamenco is very flexible and can take in lots of different influences,” she says, “because it’s already a melange of many cultures. It was born in a place where many communities and cultures come together: Arab, Jewish, Gypsies, Christians and Africans – flamenco is the result of all of that.

“And because flamenco was born in the marginal places, it has more solidarity and is more flexible to including others. It’s a popular art, so it needs to keep the traditional side to survive, but at the same time it’s always open to acquiring new things.”