Vanessa Vargas (Caracas) is a dancer, choreographer, journalist, teacher and researcher in living arts. Her work moves between theory and practice, examining dance and performance from choreography, journalism, cultural studies and social theory. As a dancer, she has collaborated in different exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum and the MoMA in New York; which include works by Cecilia Vicuña, Lygia Clark, Yoko Ono and Simone Forti, among other artists. Her choreographic projects have been presented at the Festival de Jóvenes Coreógrafos (Caracas) Dixon Place, Triskelion Arts Center, Movement Research at Judson Church, Center for Performance Research, Pioneer Works, Performance Mix festival (NYC); and the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, as well as in different dance centers in Barcelona, Catalonia. In 2018 she obtained a scholarship and a residency in La Caldera (Barcelona), as part of the Barcelona International Dance Exchange. As a journalist, Vanessa works in areas such as curatorial research, media, communication and social research in the living arts, with emphasis on teaching dance and performance focusing on engaging the public, and creating an audience. She currently lives between Barcelona and New York, finishing her PhD in living arts at the University of Barcelona. In February 2023 she participated in the dance residency at Espai La Visiva, in the same city. She recently completed her second dance residency, at FreeZone Barcelona, developing a choreographic project that is part of her PhD research. As a living arts educator, researcher and academic, Vanessa presents lectures and facilitates workshops to merge theory and practice in the dance studio.
