Vika S. Hernandez

Vika S. Hernandez

Vika S. Hernandez is a dance artist from San Diego, CA. She holds a M.A. in Global & International Studies with an emphasis on Global Culture and Religion. Her unique dance classes investigate how cosmology shapes our understanding of the universe as well as our understanding of the human body. A lifelong dancer, she credits her embodied knowledge from studying Afro-Brazilian dances and Capoeira since 2007. She has traveled extensively through central and south America, including all over Brazil. Her capoeira training began with Mestre Mariano in Santa Barbara, and to deepen her cultural understanding and immersion in the rich dancing traditions of the African diaspora, she has trained in Bahia, Brazil including capoeira with Mestre Angola, Orixa sacred dances, Afro-contemporary dances, Samba and Samba-Reggae at the Fundação Cultural do Estado da Bahia (Funceb) with legendary teachers such as Nildinha Fonseca, Denilson Oluwafeme, Rosangela Silvestre, Vera Passos, Tatiana Campelo, Vania Oliveira, as well as at the Diáspora Art Center with Mestre Nem Brito and Alabe Bira Santos. In San Diego, she teaches weekly classes and workshops and directs her own dance company, Sambamerica Dance Collective. She is the founder and creative director of the International Women’s Day Arts+DanceXchange, an annual event celebrating women, offering somatic and holistic healing through dance, music, and educational arts workshops. Recently, she has joined the Board of Directors at the Alta Vista Botanical Gardens as Director of Events, Cultural and Wellness Arts.