Artistic Director
CAROL MENDES (she/her) is a choreographer, dance filmmaker, and dance educator. A native of Brazil, she began her conservatoire training with beloved Maitre de Ballet Eduardo Bonnis, while also training tap dance with various prominent figures of the field in Brazil. She performed in musical theatre productions by Fernanda Chamma, toured and performed in Brazil and Cuba with Ballet Juliana Omati and the Orquestra Sinfônica de Campinas with choreography by Juan Castiglioni. Additionally, she received a BFA in Dance and her Teaching License (dance pedagogy certification) from the State University of Campinas (Brazil). Her undergraduate close faculty mentors include Professor Dr. Graziela Rodrigues (BPI Method), Dr. Holly Cavrell (Limon and Graham background), and Dr. Julia Ziviano (Somatics). Ms. Mendes then moved to New York to pursue a Master’s in Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts (USA). With extensive connections in the city, a few highlights of Ms. Mendes career were delving into dance composition under the mentorship of legend choreographers Phyllis Lamhut, Deborah Jowitt, and Stephen Petronio, and working as a Producer of the WestFest Dance Festival (2014-16) at the Martha Graham Theatre, the old Cunningham studios at the historic Wesbeth Artist Residency building. Other relevant events include performing choreography by Aszure Barton with the Second Avenue Dance Company, attending the Doug Varone intensive, and creating her first project-based dance company, Carol Mendes & Artists (2012-16), with a rich track of residencies, festivals, and performances during those times. She was a resident artist at Haihatus Art Center (Finland), and a guest teaching artist at Western Wyoming Community College. Ms. Mendes career spans over 25 years of performance, choreography, and teaching. Her artistic journey navigated through Brazil, the USA, and Finland. Her work has been presented at Shadbolt Centre for the Arts (Burnaby, Canada), at La Mama Theater (New York, USA), Judson Church (New York, USA), at Martha Graham Theater (New York, USA), at Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater (New York, USA), at Dixon Place (New York, USA), and Festival de Danca de Joinville (Brazil), among others. Since finally setting root in Vancouver, Canada, in 2017, Ms. Mendes assumed more of a teaching artist role, while still creating choreography freelance across various dance studios in British Columbia. Ms. Mendes founded the AMOK PROJECT with the ambitious goal to help bridge the raging abysm of communication between dance studios, post-secondary training programs, and dance companies. She is passionate about strengthening the dance community, building long-term collaborative relationships, mentoring dancers, and ultimately she can not stop loving the art of making dances.

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