20 FEBRUARY 2025 S hakespeare once wrote, “To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful.” Though the English playwright couldn’t have known Vanessa Bosell Glass, his wisdom well applies to her because she has gained much from her love of dancing. The Arizona native’s passion for dance began when her mother put her in classes at age five. She fell in love with the art and never stopped moving. “Dance gave me a physical voice. I was soft spoken as a young girl, but I could be heard when dancing. It was an outlet, and I could be myself,” Glass said. “My mom used to tell people, ‘I have one daughter, but it feels more like five boys due to all the energy in our house!’” When she wasn’t doing cartwheels in the grocery store aisles – and sometimes knocking over food displays – Glass was trying on the tap shoes her mother picked up at a garage sale. By the time she was 11, Glass was seriously studying dance and began assisting the studio owner in order to pay for endless lessons. Fast forward a few years: Glass became a lead performer on the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury and Los Angeles Clipper’s dance teams. She went on to create and direct the NBA E-League E-Kidz Dancers program. While in L.A., she appeared on a hit reality show and in numerous commercials. She performed at the Middle Eastern International Film Festival in Dubai. These days, Glass is the director for Educational Performance Tours, a company that provides high school students custom, curated educational tours throughout the United States. In the past three years, she has taken dance and theater students to San Francisco, Chicago and New York. “It’s wonderful to trigger something in young people,” Glass explained, “especially those who feel less confident about themselves.” She is emphatic in believing that everyone has some measure of talent and it’s just a matter of whether or not it gets cultivated. “I can’t say enough about Vanessa. She focuses on what matters most, providing our students with world-class training, and they always return inspired and motivated,” dance educator Jennifer Vaughn said. Glass grew up in Mesa in a single-parent household and didn’t meet her biological father until she was 38. Her favorite book is Fierce Love , a story about a mother and her boys in a life filled with defeats and hard-fought victories. Glass and her husband, Eric, have been together for 10 years. They have two sons, Jett (8) and Major (5). The family loves living in Arcadia and don’t plan on leaving. “When I was in my 20s, I would sometimes drive through the Arcadia neighborhood and dream of living there one day,” she fondly remembered. She said her superpower is being able to easily meet and connect with people and her encouragement for others is very straightforward. “Take risks. Whatever your passion, work at it, stick with it, because things don’t always happen overnight.” Vanessa Bosell Glass Whatever your passion, work at it, stick with it, because things don’t always happen overnight. 5446 E EXETER BLVD | PHOENIX $30,000,000 | 8 BEDS | 9.5 BATHS | 15,000 SQ. FT. KATRINA BARRETT | 520-403-5270 4716 N 66TH ST | SCOTTSDALE $5,250,000 | 6 BEDS | 4.5 BATHS | 4,629 SQ. FT. KATRINA BARRETT | 520-403-5270 5314 E CALLE DEL NORTE | PHOENIX $8,250,000 | 5 BEDS | 5.5 BATHS | 7,987 SQ. FT. KATRINA BARRETT | 520-403-5270  5825 E COCHISE RD | PARADISE VALLEY $3,250,000 | 4 BEDS | 4.5 BATHS | 3,729 SQ. FT. KATRINA BARRETT | 520-403-5270                6302 E HILLCREST BLVD | SCOTTSDALE $4,250,000 | 4 BEDS | 5 BATHS | 5,376 SQ. FT. KATRINA BARRETT | 520-403-5270

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