Vanessa Thiessen

Vanessa Thiessen is originally from Portland, Oregon. She trained at the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre, with James Canfield, and danced with OBT for eight seasons. After moving to San Francisco, she danced with Smuin Ballet, ODC Dance, Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, Project B., and Opera Parallele. Vanessa currently lives in Portland and splits her time between the two cities. As a dancer, she works with Post:Ballet, and with Skinner|Kirk Dance Ensemble. For the past six years, Vanessa has been teaching ballet and modern dance. She has taught at ODC Dance, San Francisco State University, Mills College, The Portland Ballet, Bodyvox, and NW Dance Project. Currently, Vanessa is also on faculty at Reed College and Sultanov Russian Ballet Academy.