Ava Strickland (She/Her) is originally from Santa Cruz, CA, where she started her dance training in ballet and modern dance at Dancenter Capitola. Ava moved to Winston-Salem, NC at 15 to attend The University of North Carolina School of the Arts’s high school program for Contemporary Dance during her junior and senior year.
After receiving her high school diploma, she continued to further her education at UNCSA, and is now in the college program working towards receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts with a focus in Contemporary Dance in Spring 2027. During her time at UNCSA, Ava has worked with esteemed faculty Brenda Daniels, Abigail Yager, Ming-Lung Yang, Emily Nicolaou, Kira Blazek Ziaii, Sean Sullivan, Kate Jewett, and more through the studies of Cunningham Technique, Limón Technique, Counter-Technique, Horton, Improvisation, Composition, and Music Studies.
Inside and outside of school, Ava has worked with and performed original works by Merce Cunningham, José Limón, Juel D. Lane, Trey McIntyre, Gavin Stewart and Vanessa Owen, Ming-Lung Yang, Endalyn Taylor Outlaw, Robert Gosnell, Ashley Lindsay and Grady Bowman, Alex Ketley, Justin Rapaport, Albert Quesada, and Katie Vickers. Ava plans to further her career by joining a company, traveling abroad, creating music, exploring different cultures and perspectives, and to always incorporate what she’s learned into her movement creation.