María Pagés (Sevilla, 1963) is a flamenco dancer, choreographer, and director whose work has helped position flamenco as a contemporary choreographic language. She began dancing as a child, trained in the orbit of Spain’s Ballet Nacional, and launched her professional career with Antonio Gades’ company before founding María Pagés Compañía in 1990. Her creations tour internationally and combine an exacting flamenco rhythmic foundation with large-scale dramaturgical structures, often integrating text, poetry, and diverse musical sources. Pagés’ honors include Spain’s National Dance Award in the category of Creation, the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts, and the 2022 Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts (shared with cantaora Carmen Linares).

A central partner in her recent work is El Arbi El Harti (Asilah/Arcila, Morocco), a writer, poet, and dramaturg who has collaborated closely with Pagés since 2011. Formerly a professor of Spanish and Latin American literature at the Universidad Mohamed V (Rabat), he brings a humanist, literary lens to the company’s projects as co-director, dramaturg, and lyricist. Together, Pagés and El Harti also lead the Centro Coreográfico María Pagés in Fuenlabrada, a platform for creation, training, and exchange in dance and flamenco. Their collaboration foregrounds dialogue—between cultures, disciplines, and generations—as both method and artistic ethic.