AVATÂRA AYUSO is an award winning choreographer, Artistic Director of AVA DANCE COMPANY, a cultural leader and activist in the dance world.
She is also the founder and director of the charity AWA DANCE (Advancing Women’s Aspirations with Dance).
She trained in ballet (Conservatorio Profesional de Mallorca and with Carmina Ocaña), in Argentinean Tango and in Linguistics (BA and MA, Universidad Complutense de Madrid) before moving to London to obtain a Certificate in Higher Education at London Contemporary Dance School. In 2005 she became part of the D.A.N.C.E. programme led by Jason Beechey, where she worked and performed internationally under the artistic direction of William Forsythe, Wayne McGregor, Frédéric Flamand and Angelin Preljocaj.
She obtained a Postgraduate Degree in Dance from Palucca Hochschule Dresden. From 2010-2018 she has been Associate Artist of the European Centre for the Arts Hellerau Dresden (Germany) and she is Associate Company of Creative Academy Slough (UK) since 2014. In 2021 Avatâra undertook a Clore fellowship placement with the United Nations Foundation Global affiliate Girl UP ALC (America Latina y el Caribe).
She was nominated for the 2015 UK National Dance Awards and again in the 2019 UK National Dance Awards for Outstanding Female Modern Performance.
Avatâra was dancer and long-standing creative collaborator of Shobana Jeyasingh Dance (UK) from 2007 to 2020.
She was Resident Artist 2019 at the Teatro del Lago in Chile and guest choreographer at National Opera Theater of Chile – Ballet de Santiago in 2023. Her ballet “Nijinska. Secreto de la Vanguardia” won the National Best 2023 Production Award in Chile
Avatâra founded ɅVɅ DANCE COMPANY in 2008 developing relationships with artists from different cultures and artistic disciplines.
Her artistic practice aims to overcome eurocentrism, by promoting cultural exchanges among artists. In her most recent projects, she has collaborated with artists from
These cultural dance experiences aim to engage in dialogue, exchange knowledge and pursue collaborations with creative minds from other cultures.
Her dance researches on different contemporary dance sectors have been published in several magazines. Since 2022 the company has developed partnerships and collaborations with UK organisations especialised in virtual reality and motion capture, including Rose Brudford College VR Lab, Target3D and MBD Limited.
Avatâra has created and produced both short and full length productions in the field of contemporary dance and ballet, and has been commissioned among others by
Her latest works have been supported amongst others by
She has also worked with
In her artistic, curational and educational projects in the UK, she has collaborated with large organisations as
Over the years, Avatâra has received several awards and grants in Germany, the UK and Spain to develop her skills as a choreographer, researcher and cultural leader. Avatâra has studies in leadership with the Open University UK, with the DanceEast International Rural Retreats, with the prestigious Clore Cultural Leadership Programme UK and Clore Social Leadership Programme Women’s and Girls Sector. She has been nominated for the 2020 One Dance UK People’s Choice Award. She was nominated in 2021 for the Dance in the Community One Dance UK Award.
In 2022 she was a volunteer with the UN Women UK for the 66th Commission on the Status of Women 2022. In 2023 she was invited to perform in the gala award of UN WOMEN UK in London
Alongside choreographing and running ɅVɅ DANCE COMPANY, Avatâra is an award winning film director (Dance Pumpkin Dance!, Tokyo Tokyo, I Am Raja, Let them Eat Cake!, The Protocol and Angel VR).
She teaches master and company class in ballet and contemporary dance. Avatâra has worked in several schools/organisations recognised internationally as a teacher and mentor: Palucca Schule Dresden (Germany), Creative Academy (UK), Northern School of Contemporary Dance (UK), Royal Ballet School (UK), English National Ballet School, Vancouver Ballet Society (Canada), London Contemporary Dance School (UK), Warwick University (UK), Beijing Dance Academy (China), Royal Academy of Dance (UK), World Dance Competion UK and Taipei University of the Arts (Taiwan), among others.
She is fully committed to empowering women and girls in and out the dance sector (see her AWA DANCE Charity). She is an active member of Equity (Performers trade Union UK), One Dance UK and the UNESCO International Dance Council (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation).
