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About Isabella
Born in Valencia, Venezuela, Isabella Cascarano began Flamenco dance at a very early age, and soon made Flamenco her career as well as her life. She attended the Lilian Matheus de Lizarraga Academy where she received Flamenco dance instruction directly from its owner and director Lilian Matheus and Carolina Lizarraga.

She received Flamenco training from some of the most renowned teachers and dancers in the Flamenco world, starting classes at the Lizarraga Academy. She continued her training with Tatiana Reina, and then attended the Amor de Dios Academy in Madrid, Spain in 1998. Among her most distinguished teachers were Carmela Greco, Carmen Osado, La China, Josele Heredia, Maria Magdalena, Timo Lozano, and, most notably, the greatest Spanish bailaor Rafael Campallo.

Isabella participated in multiple productions at various venues throughout Venezuela, including Municipal Theater, Club Hipico, Guataparo Country Club, Hotel Stauffer, Plaza Monumental, Hotel Intercontinental y Forum in Valencia, Edo. Carabobo, Theater de la Opera de Maracay, Edo Aragua, Casa de Cultura de el Hatillo, Caracas.

She was an integral member of the ballet company Las Lizarraga for four years, and participated in the First Festival ever celebrated in the Rios Reina Room of the Theater Teresa Carreño in Caracas. She was a part of the dance corps at the Lilian Matheus Lizarraga Academy when they performed for the First Regional Dance Festival, in which groups from the various branches of Flamenco participated. She has also shared the stage with the famous musical Flamenco group Gypsy Kings and with the Spanish singer Jose Luis Perales.

Among the most memorable of Isabella’s performances were shows by the Lilian Matheus de Lizarraga Academy, including “Hechizo Andaluz”, “Sueño Gitano,” “Andalucia de Fiesta”, “Barrera de Sol”, “Luces y Sombras” with the special participation of the principal Bailaor Sevillano Rafael Campallo and the Flamenco music group Cheo Azpurua Reyna presented in the Municipal Theater de Valencia.

Isabella served as a principal dancer at the Lilian Matheus de Lizarraga Academy, where she was also an accomplished professor and choreographer. Upon her arrival in the United States, in April of 2000, she immediately sought out opportunities to teach and perform Flamenco dance. She taught flamenco classes at the United Community Center (UCC) for Latino Arts, Inc., the Bruce Guadalupe Community School and the UCC Senior Center and Day Care. She also taught a master dance class for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Dance Department.

Since her arrival to the United States, she has performed at the UCC-Ameritech Fiesta, Mexican Fiesta, Rockford College in Illinois, the Concert 2000 of the Milwaukee Police Band at the Pabst Theater, the special presentation honoring the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Wisconsin at Latino Arts, Inc., Hispanic Heritage at the Milwaukee Public Museum, and special programs for children like “Noche de Paz” and a special Christmas celebration at the Aurora Weier Educational Center. Isabella performed at the Cinco de Mayo celebration at the Milwaukee Area Technical College, “Fiesta del Arte” at Atwater School, and at the HOT HOUSE in Chicago, Illinois.

She also performed with all her students, adults, teenagers, and children, in “Romanceros Gitanos” (“Gypsy Ballads”), dedicated to an influential poet and dramatist Federico Garcia Lorca, a member of Spain’s greatest generation of artists. The performance was inspired by Lorca’s book of poetry, Romanceros Gitanos. Ms. Cascarano was the choreographer and artistic director of the performance.

Isabella’s teaching experience includes after-school programs at the UCC Bruce Guadalupe School and workshops at the Atwater School Explores Hispanic Art, Rockford College, the Milwaukee Public Museum, Cardinal Stritch University and many more.

Ms. Cascarano participated in the “Festival Flamenco International 2001” in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to keep training with the best dancers and teachers, including Joaquin Encinias, Alejandro Granados, Andres Marin, Rafael Campallo and Eva la Yerbabuena.

Isabella teaches hip-hop, trans, house dance, Salsa & Merengue with the Flamenco steps and movements to create a dance fusion.

She was also invited to participate at the Milwaukee Film Festival in October 2003, where various film directors recognize her abilities to dance Flamenco and had the privilege to observe an amazing performance.

In January 2004, she organized one of the best flamenco events in the Midwest, “Almas Gitanas”, which had her as the main star of the evening, with more than 40 participants on the stage. The event presented a diverse numbers of dances and cultural mixes with Flamenco.

Now after all her hard work, Isabella has started her own Flamenco dance company Isabella Flamenco Art Center LLC, which is resident in the Lincoln Center of the Arts. Independently, Isabella teaches the students of the Lincoln Center of the Arts. Under Isabella’s direction and choreography, the students have become masters of all flamenco styles, including castanets, and various cultural fusions.

Isabella’s latest masterpiece came to fruition on June 18, 2004 at the Lincoln Center of the Arts with “Flamenco Roots”. Dancers of all ages participated in this breathtaking performance.

Ms. Cascarano recently participated in the most prestigious Flamenco Festival of Jeréz de la Frontera in Spain during February and March 2004. In this festival, Isabella received instructions from the most world re-known Flamenco dancers and teachers of Spain. Among them were Inmaculada Aguilar, Maria del Mar Moreno, El Guito, et al. Isabella received training certificates from the stars of flamenco dance. She also attended some of the best performances by El Pipa, Farruquito, Isabel Bayon, Company of Manolete, El Guito, Mario Maya Company presenting Belen Maya, Rafaela Carrasco, and Alejandro Granados, et al.

Isabella’s Flamenco Art Center insures social responsibility and corporate governance. A portion of their proceeds is donated to the Starlight Children's Foundation.

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