Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Roura Maldonado.
Hi Anna, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My story began with dance. I was born and raised in Girona, Spain, and from a young age, I knew that the stage was where I belonged. I trained professionally in dance and eventually moved to Germany, where I continued building my career as a professional dancer, choreographer, teacher, and performer.
I have been self-employed since 2007, and over the years, my career has taken me to many different stages, from theatre and opera productions to international shows and events. Later, I discovered burlesque, and it gave me a completely new way to express myself as an artist — combining dance, elegance, femininity, glamour, and storytelling.
But one of the biggest turning points in my life came in 2021, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time.
That experience changed my perspective completely. It made me realize how short and precious life really is, and how easily we postpone our dreams because we think there will always be more time.
Instead of giving up, I decided to create something I had dreamed about for a long time: my own life-size Champagne Glass. 🥂✨
I designed and built my signature Champagne Glass act and began taking it on the road. What started as an artistic dream became one of the most recognizable parts of my work. Today, I perform with my Champagne Glass at shows, theatres, private events, and special productions, bringing a little bit of old-school glamour and magic wherever I go.
My journey has not always been easy, but dance and performing have remained a constant throughout my life. The stage has given me strength during some of my most difficult moments and has taught me to keep creating, evolving, and dreaming bigger.
Today, I look at my Champagne Glass as much more than a show prop. For me, it represents a decision I made after cancer: **stop waiting.**
Life is incredibly short. Wear the costume. Build the crazy Champagne Glass. Take the trip. Step onto the stage. Create the thing you cannot stop thinking about.
Because sometimes the dreams that seem the most extravagant are exactly the ones worth pursuing. 🥂✨
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it definitely wasn’t an easy road — neither for my family nor for me.
Leaving my home in Girona at only 18 years old was incredibly difficult. It cost me many tears. This was 1998, and communication was completely different from today. There was no WhatsApp, no FaceTime, no social media — I didn’t even have an email address! Being far away from my family really meant being far away.
Then came the reality of building a career as a professional dancer. Going to what felt like a thousand auditions and hearing “no” over and over again was not easy. But I kept going. Again and again. You learn to get back up, walk into the next audition room, and try one more time.
And eventually, the incredible jobs came. I had the opportunity to perform on wonderful stages, work on amazing productions, and build the career I had dreamed about. Suddenly, all those auditions, sacrifices, tears, and rejections felt worth it.
Then COVID happened.
For almost two years, I couldn’t stand on a stage. For someone whose entire life has revolved around performing, that was incredibly painful. When I was finally allowed to perform again, I cried for an entire week. I hadn’t realized just how deeply I had missed the stage until I had it back.
And then life challenged me again. I was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time in 2021, and then for a second time in 2024.
But through everything, dance was always there.
Dance has been my constant. Burlesque has been my strength. And the stage has always felt like home. It gave me something to hold onto during some of the hardest moments of my life.
That is why, despite everything, I am still here — stronger than ever.
I have found my path. I know who I am as an artist, I know what I bring to the stage, and I can proudly say: **I am damn good at what I do.**
And maybe that is also why inspiring and coaching other women has become so important to me. I know what it feels like to start again, to doubt yourself, to be rejected, to lose something you love, and to face circumstances you never asked for.
If my journey can help another woman believe in herself, take up space, rediscover her confidence, or find the courage to step into her own spotlight, then every difficult chapter of my story has given me something meaningful to pass on. ✨
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
What I do is about much more than performing — **I create dreams and experiences.**
When people come to one of my shows, I want them to leave their everyday lives behind for a moment. I want to make them stare in wonder, laugh, cry, dream, and feel something they didn’t expect to feel.
But most importantly, I want them to leave believing in themselves a little more and loving themselves a little more than when they arrived.
That, to me, is the true magic of Burlesque.
I see myself as an ambassador for this beautiful art form. I teach it, I live it, I perform it, and I bring it to audiences around the world. Burlesque is about glamour and entertainment, of course, but underneath all the feathers, rhinestones, and champagne, there is something much deeper: confidence, freedom, self-expression, and the courage to celebrate who you are.
That is also what I try to pass on to the women I teach and coach. I don’t simply teach them how to move — I want them to discover a different version of themselves. A woman who takes up space, feels beautiful, trusts herself, and isn’t afraid to step into her own spotlight.
And then, of course, there is my signature piece: **my Champagne Glass.** 🥂✨
I like to say that I own the most beautiful Champagne Glass in the world — and I truly believe I do! It is not simply a prop; it has become part of my artistic identity.
With it, I create extraordinary experiences for events and audiences. I want guests to feel that they are witnessing something they have never seen before — something glamorous, unexpected, extravagant, and magical. I want people to remember not only what they saw, but how it made them feel.
That is probably what distinguishes my work the most. I don’t just want to put on a show.
**I want to create a memory.**
A moment of wonder. A surprise. A dream.
And if someone walks away from my performance feeling a little more alive, inspired, confident, or in love with themselves, then I have done my job. 🥂✨
How do you define success?
To me, success can be found in every step we dare to take, no matter how big or small.
It can mean trying something new, stepping outside of our comfort zone, putting ourselves in unfamiliar situations, meeting new people, or simply having the courage to keep moving forward. As long as we stop comparing ourselves to others and focus on becoming a little better than we were yesterday, I believe we are already succeeding.
For me personally, success can also be measured in applause.
There are these few precious minutes at the end of a show when the music stops, the audience starts cheering, and the applause fills the room. In that moment, they are telling me without words that I made them feel something — that for a little while, I made them happy.
And that makes me incredibly happy too.
That energy goes straight into my heart. I can literally feel it running through every pore of my body. It is almost impossible to describe.
After all these years on stage, that feeling still gives me goosebumps. And perhaps that is my favorite definition of success: **knowing that, through what I love doing, I was able to make someone else feel something beautiful.**
Contact Info:
- Website: https://parfaitdelaneige.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parfaitdelaneige
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anna.roura.maldonado
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@parfaitdelaneige7584
