What happens when traditional dances are stolen, transformed, contaminated, and reinvented until they become something new—hybrid, impure?
In Maja y Bastarda, Andalusian choreographer and dancer Laila Tafur brings to the stage “la mil leches”: a figure that intertwines flamenco, cabaret, folklore, memory, and invention, building a danced collage that is both homage and sabotage.
A body that crosses styles, geographies, and genealogies to give life to a “folkloric Frankenstein”: bastard, jondo, defiant. From tablao to theatre, from cave to cabaret, from corporation to catwalk, Maja y Bastarda is a dance that rejects purity, consciously embracing excess, hybridity, and otherness.
Bio
Laila Tafur Santamaría (Granada, 1984) is an Andalusian dancer and choreographer. Trained between Reykjavik, Lisbon, and Barcelona, she has developed a research practice that intertwines dance, singing, critical thought, and humor. Her works have been presented in festivals and theatres such as Mercat de les Flors, Sismograf, Surge Madrid, and Mes de Danza, earning awards including Best Dancer at the Maspalomas and Madrid Choreographic Contests.
She has collaborated with artists such as Janet Novás, Xavier Le Roy, and Jérôme Bel. Today, she combines her creative activity with teaching at the Conservatorio Superior in Málaga.
Credits
Concept, direction & dance: Laila Tafur
Outside eye: Amalia Fernández, Ana Buitrago
Music & archival consultancy: Charo Martín
Flamenco dance consultancy: Alba Fajardo
Costumes: Jorge Dutor, Carmen Corsano, Laila Tafur
Soundscape & music production: Isabel do Diego, Laila Tafur
Mastering: Enrique del Castillo
Lighting: Xesca Salvá
Production: Jorge Gallardo Altamirano
Video & photography: Aida Vargas
This show is produced with the support of the Programme for the Internationalisation of Spanish Music and Performing Arts, co-organised by the Cervantes Institute and the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM) of the Spanish Ministry of Culture, as part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
