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2023 Mike Moss Memorial Fund Award Recipient

Ava Pizzi

Ava Pizzi

Ava Pizzi began dancing at the age of two with Harrison Dance Studios in West Chester, Pennsylvania. She was heavily trained in ballet, partner work, Broadway tap, and contemporary jazz until graduating high school. She is currently pursuing a BS in Dance at Drexel University with a minor in Somatics. She began dancing as a company member with Anne-Marie Mulgrew Dancers and Co in February 2022 and became an intern at Kun-Yang Lin Dancers this past Fall. Ava is also working with Jennifer Morley to earn her Pilates certificate. She has a passion for sharing the Pilates method to influence her teaching of dance to children here in the Philadelphia area as well as at her home studio in West Chester.

Ava Pizzi’s project focused on gathering a group of thirteen Philadelphia artists for workshops where they discovered how combining their creative art forms with dance and movement could improve our artistic lenses as a community. She hosted as many workshops as possible, with the group in several locations around the Philadelphia area where they made art that inspires movement, or movement that inspires art, including multiple different artistic mediums such as sculpture, poetry, painting, drawing, woodcarving, pastels, videography, and more. The culmination of her project was a “Moving Gallery” which was an improvised movement excerpt that gives the artists an opportunity to reflect and dance amongst their artwork and creations from previous workshops, performed by her and the artists at the Senior Project Presentation on April 14, 2023. She plans to continue expanding her workshops after graduating. She hopes that this project inspires people to encourage their communities to gather and dance while sharing their artistic abilities and ideas.