Vanessa Isaac Dance Company

Artists, Collaborators & Community Voices

Reflections on the Work

Roots & Vision

My name is Marcus Santos. I am a Brazilian musician and educator. As a Latin artist living in the United States, I believe Vanessa Isaac’s work is of great relevance regionally and internationally for the Latinx community and beyond. For more than twenty years she has created art that matters while fostering community.

Vanessa Isaac’s work is important on many levels. She is a choreographer, dancer, artist, educator and community leader. Her dance work is important culturally and artistically and the influence of her projects continues to exist well after their creations. Her vision as well as her work inspires a culture of inclusion, diversity and social equity in the communities in which she serves.

As a choreographer, Vanessa exceeds in creating impactful and well-researched dance works. She brings her deep knowledge of traditional and contemporary dance languages. Her choreography is deeply rooted in the traditions of Afro-Brazilian and Brazilian culture. Whatever she creates or teaches, she ensures that everybody understands the cultural roots of her art. And as the extraordinary artist that she is, her work is visionary and singular. She understands and respects the cultural roots while bringing a broad perspective to her dance creations.

I have worked with Vanessa on a variety of projects and I appreciate the way she challenges her collaborators. She is able to bring the best out of every artist that she works with. She is always working with diverse voices, giving opportunities for all artists to grow and to be heard in her collaborations. 

Vanessa has also worked extensively for more than two decades teaching and leading the way for dancers in California and beyond. She has influenced many dancers to learn, develop and grow as artists and individuals in their communities. She has worked tirelessly on developing new artists and encouraging dancers to fully express themselves.

 Her work is a catalyst for self-development and transformation. She nurtures individual talents, while pushing them to surpass what they believed was only possible for themselves. Her influence is undeniable. Her community-building model utilizing dance and music as a healing agent, has served as a model of inspiration for the birth and development of many other groups and organizations.

She lifts people up and encourages individual expression while making everyone feel like they belong to a community. Her artistic work is one of inclusion positively affecting the communities she serves. In my view, she is one of the best artists bridging cultures today, which is especially necessary at this moment. 

Vanessa Isaac has had a transformational impact in the lives of our artistic communities, while creating excellence in the dance arts. 

Marcus Santos
Professional Musician, Educator, and Cultural Leader
Boston, Massachusetts

Marcus Santos is a Brazilian musician, educator, and cultural leader based in Boston and originally from Bahia, the Afro Brazilian motherland. He has performed with internationally renowned artists and received numerous honors, including the KOSA Recognition Award (2013), the Outstanding Arts Performer Award from the Brazilian Immigrant Center (2008), and the Outstanding Percussionist Award from Berklee College of Music (2004). Marcus has led workshops on Afro Brazilian percussion and music for social change at festivals, universities, and institutions around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Fiesta del Tambor (Cuba), PASIC, and Harvard University. He is currently the artistic director of Grooversity, a global drumming network connecting twenty four drumming groups across the United States, Canada, Germany, Mexico, and France.

Diversity & Personal Impact

My name is Tisha Marina. I am a dancer, an international speaker and Peace Ambassador. I am the founder of I Choose Peace, whose educational mission is to empower young leaders with the courage, compassion, and leadership skills to create peace within themselves and their peers. I have worked with thousands of students, schools and communities facilitating Bully Prevention trainings, Restorative Practices and Equity and Justice workshops. 

My journey with Vanessa Isaac has changed my life forever. I will never forget the first time I walked in to my first class with her. My heart was immediately blown open and I knew things would never be the same. From there on, my life as a dancer, person and spirit grew for the better. 

A very special added bonus in dancing with Vanessa is the diversity of her classes and workshops. As a woman of color, I always felt like I belonged in class, which is not often the case. It was such a blessing to be in a room with people of all ages, races, cultures and languages. In one of my favorite classes, I danced next to a small child and an elderly woman, whom were both dancing with all their heart and soul. These experiences prove that dance is a universal language and Vanessa creates this space in such a beautiful and tender way.

 Vanessa taught me the discipline as a dancer to master the craft, through so much passion and dedication. Her infectious love for her culture quickly grew into my passion as well. I became obsessed with Brazil, the music, the instruments and rich history. One of the best times of my life was dancing with her company. Dance rehearsals became the highlight of my life. It brought me a sense of peace during the hard times and gave me an outlet to pour my own passion in to. 

When I produced my own (first) show, I dedicated it to Vanessa. I would not have come this far as a dancer without her guidance. Vanessa’s artistic contributions and impact in our community are countless. I am continuously inspired as I watch Vanessa dedicate her life to enriching the communities around her.

Tisha Mariana, MA
Global Peace Ambassador, Educator, and Dancer
Santa Barbara & Los Angeles, California

Tisha Mariana, M.A. is the founder of I Choose Peace, a dancer and educator dedicated to holistic approaches to well being and community care. She holds a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and works through modalities including somatics, experiential facilitation, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.

 Versatility, Connection & Inspiration

As a dancer, I think Vanessa brings such versatility to her choreography. It is always dynamic and allows space to express and expand through movement.

Vanessa is always present in body, mind, and spirit, taking you along on an experience that unfolds on many levels. It allows me to experience freedom and feels deeply spiritual. As a person, I admire her spirituality, kindness, humility, expertise, and accessibility.

Her example inspires me to bring forth my own identity as a dancer, woman, and human being, creating connection to myself, to others, and to the world. What I think dance is.

Leida Tolentino, PhD
Dancer, Choreographer, Educator, and West African Dance Teacher
Faculty, Santa Barbara City College
Doctorate in Psychology and Neuroscience
Originally from Cape Verde

Artistic Innovation & Collaboration

I first heard about Vanessa Isaac 15 years ago when I was studying for my MFA at the California Institute of the Arts. I was deeply rooted in performing and studying Brazilian music and my instructor, Aaron Serfaty, told me about Vanessa and that to take her dance class was worth a drive to Santa Barbara (2 hours or more from Valencia). He remarked that he was deeply impressed by the combination of creativity and level of dance skill she brought to the work.

Years later I would meet her and perform in tandem with her, with people in our community and always I was impressed by her passion, her hard-working drive and the people that were loyal to her.  In Brasil there are “cultural hotspots” called “pontes da cultura” and it was apparent that Vanessa Isaac has been that for her community and her reputation takes her all over California and also abroad. Her strength in my humble opinion is in composition and in dance in general yet always honoring her Brazilian roots. 

One of the aspects that has always impressed me is her inspiration for who is in her studio.  The diversity of people in age, culture, gender.  It should not be so hard to find diverse groups coming together and yet it really is.  The strength of her dance company is in the outlet for innovation in choreography, self expression and learning cultural traditions.  The themes are always unique and yet all of this is taught with lifestyle and compassion in mind.  

A few years ago, Vanessa and I taught at a performing arts camp together and were able to collaborate for a final culmination. We discussed doing further work together and we had the idea of a dance piece with three “pandeiros” (instrument).  I was able to secure funding for the project and then the pandemic struck.  Even in this intense time, I was impressed how Vanessa never strayed the course and kept a schedule, clearly explaining to me how she was mapping out the piece and then how she would create costumes. It was challenging to figure out how to spearhead everything from our home and collaborate via zoom and yet I got better at what I do and learned something in the process.  At this juncture our individual discipline is what stayed our course and we adapted.

For this community at large right now, there is no one in the Bay Area creating, performing and teaching the way that Vanessa does with Classical and Afro-Brazilian movement vocabulary influenced by modern and contemporary dance. This is why even though I live here, as others who have worked with as well, we have sought her out.

There is a place for learning traditional dance and music, and yet as traditions are taught they continue to evolve and move and this is the essence of her work.  This unique voice of innovation, creation is an inspiration and I look forward to when we can work again together.  

Ami Molinelli
Composer, Percussionist, Musician, and Educator
San Francisco, California

Ami Molinelli is a composer, percussionist, and music educator specializing in Brazilian and Latin percussion. She is the founder and director of Music Is First, an organization that empowers early educators and families through music based activities supporting musical development, literacy, mathematics, and social emotional learning. Ami is the also a bandleader of Grupo Falso Baiano and a percussionist and ensemble member of Duo Violão Plus One, featured in the Chamber Music America showcase of História do Choro. For more about her work, please visit www.amimo.com.

Growth & Personal Impact

Vanessa is a kind, warm, and encouraging dancer and dance teacher who has made a real impact on my life. I have danced with Vanessa Isaac since 2014, initially in person for 5 years and more recently in her virtual live classes as I have moved to Baton Rouge, LA.

While in graduate school, dancing with Vanessa helped me to cope with the intense stress of academia. I always left her classes feeling grounded, rejuvenated, and ready to take on life’s challenges. Vanessa also creates a beautiful and supportive community through dance. That community made me feel immediately welcomed and cheered me on as I made it through various milestones and setbacks of earning my doctoral degree.

Vanessa’s deep knowledge, effusiveness and enthusiasm are infectious as she shares her energy and love of her art form with her students every single time she shows up to the studio. Her dedication to her craft and to sharing dance with her students is astounding.

I came to Vanessa with years of dance experience under my belt, but under her tutelage I have been able to grow. I have grown stronger and more graceful in my dancing as I continue to learn from Vanessa’s musicality.

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to dance with Vanessa these past years and I look forward to continuing to dance with her from afar for years to come. Vanessa, her hard work, and her caring spirit have truly changed my life for the better.

Nikita Carney, PhD
Professor of Sociology and Dancer
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Nikita Carney, PhD is a professor in the Department of Sociology at Louisiana State University. Her areas of expertise include race, gender, migration, and ethnography. Alongside her academic work, she is also a dancer.