To the memory in art and wisdom of my maestra Doña Pilar López

«The immortality of an artist is in knowing how to look».  She always had instinctive wisdom and was an example of nobility within a profession which today is not appreciated.  I prefer her wisdom and profound humanity.

On February 2nd I had the intention of inviting her to the Teatro Albéniz in Madrid for the debut of the show «Mujeres» which I directed.  But she refused to leave the house; by then her smile appeared brittle, like the smiles that appear on one’s lips without permission. The deep circles under her eyes overshadowed the shine of her face.

Baryshnikov once said you’re a dancer til you die; that’s how it was with doña Pilar.  I don’t think dance necessarily follows rational logic or thinking, but rather it is more organic, from the imagination.  That’s why we speak metaphorically of movement and discover hidden subtlety.  The dancer must be very human, and this was always in the forefront for her.

Mario Maya & Pilar López

In the past I used to confuse shyness with fear.  I studied and travelled with her for a long time.  She taught me the ethics and the aesthetics of art, of Spanish dance and of flamenco.  For five years I was by her side.  Terrible times of poverty, travelling in terrible trains, staying in cheap damp guest houses, but always there was joy, and love for the art.  Nothing was more important than learning the difficult world of flamenco.

I remember when we went to the Festival de Linares with the Pilar López Ballet Español, then called «Festivales de España». Since it was a local holiday, there were no rooms, everything was full.  Nowadays you reserve a year in advance, in that we’ve gotten much better.  We went to the last place my friend Antonio Gades had known, but that was full as well.  Worried there would be no place to rest after the rehearsals, and later on, after the show, we decided to take the best the owner could offer. And what do you think it was?  A pool table and a blanket.  And that’s where we slept like logs, my buddy Gades and me, the night of our great triumph.

As long as professional performers don’t even respect themselves and are influenced by political trends, they will not be legitimized or respected by their peers.  I prefer to be the slave of my words rather than the master of my silence.

For Dña. Pilar López

Lo que no me des y no te pida,                           What you do not give and I do not request,
Será para la muerte,                                           will belong to death,
que no deja ni sombra por la carne estremecida.  that leaves not even a shadow of trembling flesh

Mario Maya (Director- Choreographer)

Pilar López (1912-2008)