Vanessa Cardoso-Whelan is a playwright, multidisciplinary artist, street performer, and clown hailing from Brazil, with a passion for contemporary theatre and body movement awareness, especially related to Flamenco dancing. Graduating in Theatre Arts in 2004, she has performed with several artistic groups onstage and in street productions, as an actress, Flamenco dancer, puppeteer, and fire flow dancer. Backstage activities include production assistant and stage manager assistant. She also has given theatre and dance instruction to adults and kids. Vanessa has been actively engaged in the local arts scene since moving to Canada in 2014, performing in theatre productions, dancing Flamenco, clowning, doing her Living Statue, and participating in diverse artistic workshops and festivals. Vanessa likes to give her art back to the community, doing volunteer performances for new Canadians/refugees, and non-profit organizations.