Avatâra Ayuso
About
AVATÂRA AYUSO is a 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.
She was nominated for the 2015 UK National Dance Awards and again in the 2019 UK National Dance Awards for Outstanding Female Modern Performance.
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.
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.
Dalcroze
“Rhythm is infinite, therefore the possibilities for physical representations of rhythm are infinite” (Dalcroze, 1912)
Concept, Choreography and Performance: Avatâra Ayuso
Production: Deutsche Werkstätten
Reviews
“Exquisite body movement”
‘Ayuso’s second piece Dalcroze was receiving its UK premiere. A solo performed by the choreographer herself to an exhilarating soundtrack of Japanese drumming, Dalcroze was seven minutes of mesmerising timing and exquisite body movement.’ – Gerard Davis, Dancing Review
Balikbayan
Balikbayan reflects on concepts such as acculturation, migration, alienation, identity, cultural shock and hybridization, based on (but not restricted to) Filipino female migration. Avatâra Ayuso has choreographed this work for Estela Merlos of Rambert Dance Company and brings together a group of collaborators, including anthropologist Kathrine Ann Cagat, dramaturg Ignacio Vleming and costume designer Marta Jiménez.
Choreographer: Avatâra Ayuso
Dancer: Estela Merlos
Reviews
“A grippingly contrary affair“
“In constant conflict with its (hopefully) deliberately infuriating voiceover, the astonishing Estela Merlos contorted her body into all sorts of vicious positions before repeatedly slapping the inside of her thighs. Although the middle section where Merlos ran around the stage with her skirt falling round her ankles seemed a bit out of place Balikbayan, and Merlos, grabbed the attention and kept it rapt.” – Gerard Davis, Dancing Review
Photo Gallery
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