Vanessa Albalos

Vanessa was born in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, which is where she spent her childhood. Her mother was the biggest influence in Flamenco, as she introduced Vanessa to the art from an early age and gave her an upbringing rich in music. It was then that she started to become familiar with cante and the very complex and unusual rhythms of Flamenco.

She began to study Flamenco dance at the age of 13 in El Paso, Texas with Rita Vega de Triana and Curro Niebla. After migrating to Southern California, studied with several well-known teachers in the area, including Sarah Parra, Gabriela Garza, Jose Tanaka (guitarist), Jesus Montoya (singer), Manuel Gutierrez, and Briseyda Zarate. She frequently takes the opportunity to take workshops with artists from Spain.

Vanessa has toured Mexico with the Festival Internacional Cervantino, and Japan with Jose Tanaka’s Soniquete Flamenco, also recording palmas for Jose’s guitar album “Lluvia”. She appeared in the Iron & Wine video on MTV’s “Boy With A Coin”, and in Mater TV’s “Caminos Flamencos”, with Yaelisa’s San Francisco based company. She has also appeared in the annual Los Angeles Flamenco Festival, New World Flamenco Festival, Irvine Barclay Theatre, frequently at the Fountain Theatre’s Forever Flamenco Series, and Houston Flamenco Festival with Jesus Montoya Company.  Currently, Vanessa resides in Moreno Valley, California, and performs weekly at many tablaos and private venues in Southern California. She is considered by her colleagues to be captivating, inspirational dancer, and supportive, valuable compañera