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 started dancing Afro-Brazilian Dance and Capoeira with Mariano Silva in 2007. Since then, she has traveled extensively through central and south America 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, 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 dance classes and capoeira under the direction of Mestre Angola 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 around the world while offering somatic and holistic healing through dance, music, and educational arts workshops with a mission to build a meaningful connection to nature through community exchange. In 2024, she was awarded Oceanside’s Individual Artist Grant and spearheaded the city’s first World Rhythm & Dance Festival.

Follow The Artist @vikadances + @sambamericadancecollective

Follow Events: @womensdayxchange + @worldrhythmdancefest