A two-minute showreel of choreographic and screendance work created across the past four years.
A live and screen-based work created with IN Dance Co. in Amsterdam, presented at Het Mandela Huisje, The Orangerie at Zone2Source in the Amstelpark, and Het Amsterdams Theaterhuis. Funded by Balkonscenes Fonds Podiumkunsten and Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst.
The film version of KERN has received international recognition including Best Director at Vesuvius International Film Fest, Best Dance Film and Best Editing at Paris Play Film Festival, Best Sound Design at Florence Film Awards and NYN Film Awards, and Honourable Mention for First Time Director at Florence Film Awards, alongside official selections at festivals in Sweden, the UK, the Netherlands and India.
“The dancers deliver an impressive performance, and the performance presents a beautiful picture of the search for togetherness in a world of differences.” Boukje Cnossen, Theaterkrant
A short film depicting two individuals connected by rope, intertwined in their paths and playing on the edges of bondage and freedom. The work explores control, transgression, submission and surrender, capturing both outer transformations and inner ones. The soundtrack features Taonga pūoro, traditional Māori instruments historically used to warn of danger, mark the beginning of a new day, and communicate with Māori gods. The rope itself carries Māori cultural meaning as a connection to ancestors, while drawing visually on Japanese Shibari and Kinbaku traditions. Custom costumes with 3D-printed elements function as protective cocoons through which the dancers move. Created during Isabelle’s Dance Video Production studies at SAE Amsterdam.
A duet drawing on the Maori word for “one” or “joining as one” to explore vulnerability, bravery and the work of learning to see another not as a hindrance but as an inextricable part of one’s evolution.
Performed at Kunstkapel and Vondelpark Openluchttheater in Amsterdam.
“In FLIGHT MODE, Isabelle Nelson demonstrates a strong image of a world in which we sometimes seem to drown, by always being on.” Gina Hakkert, Theaterkrant
A solo work performed at Tempo Dance Festival in New Zealand, TanzArt Ostwest in Germany, and Teatr Tanca Zawirowania in Warsaw, drawing on Maori creation narratives.
“I have no doubts that Mana Orite by Isabelle Nelson was the best and most interesting dance performance shown in Warsaw in 2020. Her dance is universal, and when well composed it simply delights. Nelson was the most interesting dancer of the entire Zawirowania festival.” Sandra Wilk, Dance Party
A sold-out evening curated by Isabelle for AAlchemy / NPAFE platforming female filmmakers in dance.
A free-to-participant workshop series in Amsterdam designed and delivered by Isabelle, supported by a development stipend from Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst. The programme brought filmmaking skills to dance artists outside existing networks.
In 2025 Isabelle represented Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance as jury member at the International Ballet Grand Prix Singapore, adjudicating ballet and contemporary categories and contributing to the awarding of scholarships placing winning candidates with UK conservatoire training programme including Rambert and The Place.
She currently teaches Countertechnique at Rambert School in London, and has taught across European conservatoires including Codarts Rotterdam, Oslo Academy of Arts, Fontys Academy of the Arts, and Henny Jurriens Studio Amsterdam as well as leading Company class for most recently Wayne McGregor and National Dance Company of Wales amongst others.
Isabelle has just completed an MA in Arts and Cultural Management at Leuphana University on the structural conditions affecting UK freelance dancer mental health and wellbeing, with comparative fieldwork in Germany and the Netherlands. The research informs the direction her practice is now taking. The full thesis is available upon request. Past research supported by AFK includes interviewing leading global dance filmmakers throughout 2023. The footage was edited by Isabelle, with example excerpts below.
