Vanessa da Silva Amaral
Born in Lisbon, she began her dance studies at the age of 5. She completed her academic and artistic training at the Dance School of the National Conservatory of Lisbon in 1996. Notable teachers during her training include Georges Garcia, Ulrike Caldas, Jorge Salavisa, Carlos Caldas, Luísa Taveira, Margarida Bettencourt, Cristina Graça, Cristina Pereira, Miguel Lyzarro, Olga Roriz, Bárbara Griggi, Paula Pinto, and Ludger Lamers.
She joined the National Ballet Company as an intern and later became a Corps de Ballet Dancer, with notable performances in the ballets "The Rite of Spring," "Sleeping Beauty," "Cinderella," and "Artifact," and working with choreographers and ballet masters Violette Quenolle, Ivan Kramer, Michael Corder, Maria Palmeirim, Isabel Fernandes, João Miranda, Rui Lopes Graça, Glenn Tuggle, and Ted Branson.
She was a dancer with the Dançarte Company, where she highlights her work with choreographers Sofia Belchior, Rui Pinto, Fernando Duarte, Joel Borges, Hillel Kogan, and Hugo Vieira. She also participated in an exchange with Joel Borges' IXKIZIT Company, co-creating the piece "Silere" with Sofia Belchior and António Machado.
She was part of the Madeira Dance Company's cast, under the artistic direction of Marta Athaíde and Carlos Fernandes, with prominent roles in the ballets "Cinderella," "Les Sylphides," "La Bayadère," and "Raymonda," among others.
She was a teacher at the Dançando com a Diferença Group (an inclusive dance group), under the artistic direction of Henrique Amoedo, where she developed Contemporary and Classical Dance Technique classes for people with disabilities. She accompanied all the choreographic processes that the Group developed with guest choreographers, namely Rui Horta, Clara Andermatt, and Elisabete Monteiro.
She taught at the Conservatório – Escola das Artes, in the Professional Contemporary Dance Performer Course, leading the choreographic project of that course; and at the Carlos Fernandes Ballet School in Funchal, teaching Classical Dance Technique, Pointe, and Contemporary classes.
She has been a teacher at Quórum Academy since 2011.
She completed her Master's degree in Dance Teaching in 2020 at the Lisbon Dance School, Lisbon Polytechnic Institute.