Vanessa is available for the following: choreography, consulting, teaching. For inquiries about choreographic work or group/private classes, contact vsanchez@lamezclasf.net.
Vanessa Sanchez
La Mezcla Executive Director, Choreographer, Performer
Vanessa Sanchez is a Chicana dancer, choreographer, and educator whose work centers on community arts and traditional dance forms to uplift the voices of Latina, Chicana, and Indigenous womxn. Based in San Francisco, Sanchez is the Founder and Executive Artistic Director of La Mezcla, a polyrhythmic dance company that explores historical narratives and social justice through Tap dance, Son Jarocho, Afro-Caribbean rhythms and live music. A 2019 Dance/USA Artist Fellow, she is deeply committed to community engagement, bringing the often overlooked histories of communities of color to stages, streets, and fields.
Sanchez’s work has been shown on national and international stages, including the Lincoln Center, Jacob’s Pillow, Teatro Maria Matos in Lisbon, Portugal and El Teatro de la Ciudad Esperanza Iris in Mexico City. Currently touring the US, Sanchez’s production “Ghostly Labor,” a Hewlett 50 Arts Commission, is a polyrhythmic dance theater work that delves into the history of labor in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands. Her NEFA-funded production, “Pachuquísmo”—an all-female tap and Son Jarocho performance exploring the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots and the legacy of Pachucas—received the Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Production and has toured internationally.
Her film “Ghostly Labor: a Dance Film” has been screened around the globe, receiving numerous awards including El XicanIndie’s “Most Outstanding Film” and Doc’s Without Border’s “Outstanding Excellence Award.” Her second dance film “Convivencia” was commissioned by Dance Camera West and premiered in January 2025.
Committed to accessible arts education, Sanchez offers free and donation based dance classes to local communities, schools and organizations. She has been a featured speaker at UC Berkeley, Teatro de la Ciudad Irapuato and the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy. She has held residencies at Arizona State University, Sonoma State University and University of San Francisco. Sanchez served as a dance lecturer at UC Santa Cruz from 2020-2023 and is currently an artist-in-residence at Brava! For Women in the Arts.
CHOREOGRAPHY
Sanchez’s work has been shown on stages throughout the SF Bay Area, the United States and Mexico. She created and directed a virtual Concert for Kids for the Lincoln Center. She choreographed and danced, and acted in Paul Flores’ “History Matters in the Mission,” where Sanchez portrayed the legendary Chicana artist Yolanda Lopez. Her choreography has been featured in John Jota Leanos’ “Imperial Silence- Una Opera Muerta.” Sanchez has been featured as a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley, California Institute of Technology, San Francisco State University, CSU Channel Islands and CSU East Bay. She held a 10-day guest artist residency at Arizona State University and has led dance workshops throughout organizations including The San Francisco Museum of the African Diaspora, the Dance/USA national conference and for environmental activist Collette Pinchon Battle’s Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy. As a professional dancer, Sanchez has performed with group’s including Las Bomberas de la Bahia (Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba), Afoutayi (Afro-Haitian), Arenas Dance Company (Afro-Cuban), Aguas da Bahia (Afro-Brazilian), and Duniya Dance and Drum Company (Bhangra/Bollywood/West African). She has performed throughout the United States, Mexico and Europe at events including San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, Bomplenazo (Bronx, New York), El Festival de las Brujas (Veracruz, Mexico) and at Teatro Maria Matos in Lisbon, Portugal.
TEACHING
With a background in dance education and over 20 years of dance training, Vanessa is an accomplished teaching artists in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her teaching skills range from preschool and elementary aged classes, to adult classes of all levels, as well as mentoring new teaching artists. Vanessa currently teaches with various local non-profit arts organizations. She is available for private classes, workshops, and choreography sessions.
CONSULTING
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