Juana Amaya, flamenco dancer from Morón

The temperament of Manuela Carrasco, a pinch of Carmen Amaya, the racial elegance of Manuela Vargas and Carmen Cortés. These are the basic ingredients that make up Juana García Gómez, Juana Amaya from Morón de la Frontera.

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She was only eleven years old when I saw her dance for the first time during a New Year's Eve celebration in 1979. At the time, I told my friend, the late amateur flamenco singer Antonio Cabrera, that I was impressed by the intensity of the young girl, her flamenco spirit. After her performance, Antonio brought her over to me and told her to “Thank the lady, she has said some very nice things about you”. But at that moment, it was I who had to congratulate the young girl for her beautiful artistic maturity at such a young age.

Decades have passed since then, Juana is now a mature artist, and her dancing is full of energy and passion. Her message comes across perfectly intact, confirming the timelessness of things done well. This dancer, who partnered Mario Maya at barely fifteen, and managed to maintain her individuality when paired with Farruquito in 2003 in the show Por Derecho, remains one of the most interesting and underrated dancers of her generation.

Here’s what the now adult Juana has to say:

The surname Amaya comes from my mother's side. My grandmother was Dolores Amaya Flores, sister of Diego del Gastor. Diego's full name was Amaya Flores, and my mother is Juana García Amaya. We come from the Negros de Ronda. That name is gradually disappearing.

I was born in 1968 in Seville on Avenida de la Palmera, a clinic that used to be there. I am from Morón de la Frontera on my father's and mother's side, but I grew up in the Santa Cruz neighborhood, a little house with flower pots and the typical patio. There we had a wooden board for my cousin to practice on. Ramon Barrull and I, and there we learned to dance.

Diego del Gastor who lived most of his life in Morón, was a legendary guitarist with a pure traditional style. He accompanied Antonio Mairena, Perrate, Fernanda and Bernarda, among many others. In those times, people who wanted to learn about flamenco would go to Morón before arriving in Seville.

«I’m very open to innovation. I go to the theater to see what people are doing, even if it’s not related to flamenco. If I see something I like, I shout 'ole' twenty thousand times, whether it’s contemporary, flamenco, or classical»

Juana Amaya and her daughter Nazareth. Photo: Beth Nesbitt

There are mostly guitarists in my family. In dance, there was my uncle Pepe Ríos Amaya, my cousin Ramón Barrull, from whom I learned, and his son Jairo Barrull. My daughter Nazaret is already XNUMX years old and making her mark. She was with Amador Rojas on a two-month tour in the United States, and they are currently in Brussels, Lyon, and then Zurich. Within her is the dance inherited from her people, from Ramón Barrull, from Joaquín Cortés, the school of Morón, and the good influences within her. She has an open vision of dance. There’s also Juan de Juan, to whom I gave lessons because he was my neighbor, and now this great generation of young people has emerged.

My father was a great fan of flamenco singing. He guided my entire career from the time I was just a child of 8 or 9. He was with me from the very beginning. He was my road manager, he advised me, and he was everything to me. When he passed away, I stopped dancing for a few years because it felt like my dance left with him. But in the end, I kept on going, and I’m still doing some of his things. Right now, I’m in Alburquerque.

I became Mario Maya's partner because I was working at a fair tent for Morón’s Flamenco club with my cousin Ramón. I was about twelve or thirteen. In Seville, I met Curro Fernández and Anzonini, may they both rest in peace, as well as Carmen Mora. Mario formed a small group and said, "There's a girl in Morón who dances very well, let's go see her". They came to the Peña, I was very young—I didn’t know who these important people were. Mario liked me so much that every time he came to Seville, he would ask, "How's the girl? Has she grown?" When he saw that I was a bit older, he made me his dance partner. From that point on, many doors opened for me. We did "Ay Jondo," when I wasn’t even 15 years old. It gave me a lot of experience in theater. Then there was "Amargo"… I spent about 6 or 7 years with him on his big tours. He was a master, and I learned a lot with him, especially about the discipline of working in a theater.

To be a good artist, you must first go through a tablao (flamenco nightclub), as it gives you the experience you need to do whatever you want later on. It’s a learning process, the best school you can imagine. In a theater, you have to reach the last row as Mario used to say. You need a very strong personality to move people emotionally. I love the theater. I've traveled all over the world, performed at Carnegie Hall, City Center, the Theater of the Opera in Rome... the best theaters in the world. I take great satisfaction in that, but the tablao is something you have to go through. I started out in the Los Gallos tablao in Sevilla when I was 12 or 13. Farruca and Pilar la Faraona were there, as well as Carmen Albéniz, guitarists Ramón Amador, Carlos Heredia, Rafael Cabeza, singers Curro de Triana, Jarrillo, el Moreno, el Eléctrico al baile, Mistela…it was unbelievable. Then I moved on to the tablao Zambra. But you have to go through the tablao, it gives you the freedom to do everything you want. In a theater you have to learn to fill it with your personality, it’s a different approach.

At Zambra, after the regular tourist show, special performances were organized. I remember dancing alongside Joaquín Cortés, Antonio Canales, Arturo Pavón on piano, all the Parrilla family, with violin, guitar, and flute, El Indio Gitano, Juañares, Antonio Carbonell, El Viejín... And in the audience were Rocío Jurado, Lola Flores, Paco de Lucía... the crème de la crème of Madrid, total luxury. I’ll never forget it, all under the direction of Cristóbal Reyes.

«To be a good artist, you must first go through a tablao (flamenco nightclub), as it gives you the experience you need to do whatever you want later on. It’s a learning process, the best school you can imagine. In a theater, you have to reach the last row as Mario used to say. You need a very strong personality to move people emotionally. I love the theater»

The dancer Juana Amaya. — Juana Amaya, with Ramon Barrull, Juan Toro and Jairo Barrull. Photo: Estela Zatania

I think partnered flamenco dancing is being lost. I remember dancing bambera as a duo with Antonio Canales. I also worked a lot as a duo with Joaquín Cortés, and several times with Farruquito. Between one thing and another, I've been very lucky to work with such amazing artists.

As for accessories, I’ve used the long train dress several times… at a Bienal, or with Pilar Távora. I focus more on straight dancing, seeking my own style based on the masters, but there are people specialized in dancing with a shawl, fan, castanets… Flamenco dance has those options, each artist must find his or her own path.

I’m very open to innovation. I go to the theater to see what people are doing, even if it’s not related to flamenco. If I see something I like, I shout 'ole' twenty thousand times, whether it’s contemporary, flamenco, or classical.

I’ve been teaching dance in Seville for many years, I have my school at Puerta la Carne. I’ve also taught classes in California with Farruquito. I’ve been traveling back and forth to Paris for a year now to teach, I really enjoy teaching. People like La Moneta, Iván Vargas, Rubén Olmo, Juan de Juan, Jairo Barrull and Alba Heredia, leading figures in the field, have come to teach at my school.

The Bienal de Flamenco is great because it attracts many people from all over the world, a wonderful initiative with high-level performers. Long live the Bienal de Flamenco of Seville, and for many years to come!