Ava Basset is a current University at Buffalo MFA Dance candidate who graduated from Nazareth University with Bachelors of Science in Dance Studies and Digital Marketing Strategy, Summa Cum Laude.

She describes herself as a performer, choreographer, instructor, and digital strategist who blends technical skills and artistry across disciplines to create and perform unique work. Her choreographic and performative research centers around human connection, interdisciplinary design, and story-telling.

Some of Ava’s notable professional performance experience includes participation in multiple productions around the Rochester NY area: Masquerade in the Museum: A Seven Deadly Sins Soirée in collaboration with immersive theater company Cat and the Coyote, Bicentennial of the Erie Canal Construction with the NYC based Cecilia Whalen Company, Rochester Fringe Festival shows RE and Merged: An Evening of Contemporary Dance featured in works by Heather Roffe and Melanie Aceto, and Rochester City Ballet’s Booze n’ Ballet event where Ava was both a dancer and choreographer with the Company members.

Instructors such as Heather Roffe, Cat Olson, Mariko Yamada, Heather Acomb, Megan Kamler, Diane Lewis, and Stevie Oakes have influenced her movement practice, technique, and approach. Brief studies under Dance Companies - Limón Dance Company, Boston Dance Theater, Gallim Dance Company, Urban Bush Woman, Cecilia Whalen Dance, and Garth Fagan Dance - have also shaped her understanding of choreographic process, performance, and physical practice. Through these influences, she investigates nuance, sensation, effort qualities, and gestures to communicate meaning and emotion to viewers through movement, performance, and creative expression.

As a dance practitioner and instructor, her focus emphasizes anatomy, strength, and stability as anchors within her practices drawing from Pilates Mat and Reformer Certifications. Ava seeks to continue connecting with artists, instructors, and companies to expose herself to new processes and different perspectives through dance and digital art.

In the future, Ava seeks to share her research interest in blending digital mediums through creative, performative, and teaching practices to students in higher education and beyond.