Naima Amar Lopez is used to drawing a large, appreciative crowd when she stages her dramatic flamenco show in Pitt Street mall.

However, she had no idea a couple of months ago that there was one particularly well-informed pair of eyes among the spellbound audience.

Dancing queen: Naima Amar Lopez was "discovered" in Pitt Street mall. Credit:Wolter Peeters

Tomas Dietz, an expert in the Spanish dance form and choreographer of Opera Australia's upcoming performance of Don Quichotte, happened to be strolling through the mall.

"I heard the flamenco music and I had to go and have a look," he says. "I saw Naima dancing and I was struck by how natural and real her dancing was. I thought, 'This is a genuine flamenco dancer'."