ISHIDA Dance Company, inc.

Brett Ishida, the founder, Artistic Director and resident choreographer, is a fourth generation Japanese American-Yonsei-raised in the agricultural town of Porterville, California. Brett's love for dance inspired her to move away from home at age fifteen when she received a full scholarship at the Kirov Academy and later at SAB. She went on to dance with Boston Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, where she first choreographed, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens dancing principal and soloist roles in repertoire by William Forsthye, Nacho Duato, Jiri Kylian, Ohad Naharin and Dedy Veldman among others.

Enchanted by wordplay Brett received a BA from UCLA in English: Creative Writing with emphasis in Poetry and later a MA in Montessori Education from St. Mary’s College. Brett was an educator and administrator in Texas, California and Greece with a passion for promoting the arts in education and advocating for children with special learning needs.

Brett launched Ishida Dance Company in the Spring of 2019. The Company’s first public performances will be held at the Long Center on January 3 & 4, 2020.

Each of Brett’s new works intertwine like dreams. Her work often combines tenets of ancient Greek poetry or philosophy with film images, text and reflections on childhood attachments. She is creating memory-houses for audiences where characters reemerge to build relationships and familiarity that might pull at our heartstrings in imitation of Life’s enigma.