Vanessa Agle Isaac is a Brazilian interdisciplinary artist whose work explores movement as a language of transformation and cultural memory. Through dance, film, and writing, she creates a poetic dialogue between the body, ecology, and the feminine, a form she describes as “the ecological body.”
Her work moves fluidly between contemporary performance, film, and ecological reflection, bridging Afro-Brazilian heritage with a cinematic sensibility that feels both intimate and universal. She is part of a generation of artists redefining embodiment as art, offering a vision in which body, nature, and image exist as parts of one continuous choreography.
The Vanessa Isaac Dance Company, has presented internationally acclaimed works including Passagens (commissioned by Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo’s Fête de la Danse), Bach and Bachianas (Santa Barbara Museum of Art, in collaboration with the Santa Barbara Symphony), and The Amazon Project, an ongoing multidisciplinary creation inspired by her journey through the Brazilian rainforest. Her dance film Alfazema, commissioned by composer Ami Molinelli through the San Francisco Arts Commission, and Panducada Dance Film continue her exploration of rhythm, ritual, and feminine renewal.
Company Productions
Bach and Bachianas
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4, Prelúdio - Heitor Villa-Lobos. Performed by the Vanessa Isaac Dance Company accompanied by Natasha Kislenko, Santa Barbara Symphony Pianist.
Bach and Bachianas
Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4, Prelúdio - Heitor Villa-Lobos. Performed by the Vanessa Isaac Dance Company accompanied by Natasha Kislenko, Santa Barbara Symphony Pianist. Villa-Lobos has greatly influenced Latin American music and many artists globally.
Alfazema Dance Film. The Healing Powers of the Sea and Within Ourselves
Commissioned to Vanessa A. Isaac by Composer and Musician Ami Molinelli as part of her Individual Arts Grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission Project. This Dance Works was partially made possible by a Rental Subsidy Grant from American Dance and Music, Inc awarded to Vanessa.
Pandu-cada Dance Film. The Journey of Life and the Elemental Earth
Commissioned to Vanessa A. Isaac by Composer and Musician Ami Molinelli as part of her Individual Arts Grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission Project. This Dance Works was partially made possible by a Rental Subsidy Grant from American Dance and Music, Inc awarded to Vanessa
'“Feita de Luz” Dance Film. Celebrating Bahia, The Afro-Brazilian Motherland and the Baianas, Photo By Chris La Rosa
Note: “Before It Kills Us All” is a film and video installation of Cambridge Documentary Films, produced and directed by the Academy Award Documentary Film Producer Margaret Lazarus and includes the work of several dancers including Vanessa Isaac.
“Feita de Luz” Dance Film
Celebrating Sisterhood, Bahia and the Women the African diaspora.
Other Recent Company Projects
“Prelúdio da Saudade” Commissioned Work by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
“Prelúdio da Saudade” Commissioned Work by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
“Passagens” a Work in Progress, 2022. Photo by Fritz Olenberger
Vanessa Isaac performing a solo for the classic Waters of March bossa nova.
Inspired by the music of composer Antonio Carlos Jobim
Photo by Marco Caranzza
Community Connection
For 28 years Vanessa has been promoting intercultural connections, creating spaces for healing and facilitating community building. Dance and music have the power to heal, inspire, and bring people together. See more by clicking here
Please Consider Supporting our Work.
The Vanessa Isaac Dance Company believes in the power of dance and the arts to heal, connect, and transform lives. With your support, we can continue to create inspiring performances, offer educational opportunities, and build vibrant communities. All donations to our company are tax-deductible thanks to our fiscal sponsorship! Please read more by clicking here.
