Danza Viva are excited to welcome Maria Bermudez to Perth for the first time in October 2015.

Some of you may know Tomas Arroquero from the work he has done with Danza Viva over the years. Maria comes heartily recommended by him, as she was one of his most important teachers in Jerez de la Frontera. She is someone with the most extensive knowledge of flamenco, a down to earth spirit and a beautiful singing voice too. We are so lucky to have her coming all the way to Australia to share her knowledge with us and get to know Danza Viva.

Maria grew up in the US, so she speaks English and will be able to communicate all of her knowledge to us freely. But despite growing up in the US there are few people in the world with her deep knowledge of an appreciation of flamenco and the gypsy way of life. Now she brings that knowledge back to the United States, staging shows and performing in Los Angeles with the likes of Andres Peña.

Maria’s first experience of flamenco was through her older brother who was passionate about it. She only pursued it herself when he died very young, leaving her home as a teenager to go to Spain and live out his dream. She embraced the culture there and made it her own in a way that is rare. She fell in love with a gypsy and married him. She has many stories to tell us, can relate to loving something that isn’t yours by birth, and can help us to make flamenco our own.

“I came all the way to the source. I came to the birthplace of flamenco,” Bermudez said. I just ate, drank, slept everything flamenco. Here, flamenco is literally in the streets. It’s in the supermarkets. It’s in the flea markets. It’s in the home where all the women are cooking their food. The children are practically dancing out of their wombs. It’s everywhere.”

Details about the workshop will be coming soon.