Founder and Director

AVATÂRA AYUSO is the Founder and Director of AWA DANCE. She is a choreographer, the Artistic Director of AVA DANCE COMPANY, a cultural leader and activist in the dance world. Her work has taken her around the world, collaborating with many artists and organisations from Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America. These international experiences made her aware of the inequality that women face in the workforce in general, and in the dance sector in particular, where despite girls outnumbering boys in training and professional contexts, women are not taught to be leaders, but rather to follow the existing patriarchal structures.

Her belief in the power of dance to change and enrich lives, her commitment to create opportunities for the female voice to be heard, and her immense admiration for women inspired Avatâra in her mission to empower the women and girls of the world. AWA DANCE is her contribution to making the 21st century world a better place for everyone.

Governance

Good governance never depends upon laws, but upon the personal qualities of those who govern.

“Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty,promoting sustainable development and building good governance”

Kofi Annan