Avianna Perez is a director, choreographer, performer, organizer and the founder and artistic director of Insurgo Stage Project. In 2008 she graduated high honors/Phi Beta Kappa from Rutgers University with BA degrees in Dance, Sociology, and Theater Arts. While at Rutgers she performed in and directed various student works in both dance and theater. Upon graduation Avianna stayed in New Brunswick to develop her dance company and contribute to a bourgeoning political and artistic community. She taught dance classes at the Hub Teen Center, coordinated a one-weekend dance festival (ST/ART), led the New Brunswick Arts Collective and ArtHouse, and coordinated the art and music festival portion of the week-long Tent State University event every April.
Since 2005 she has produced and directed five feature-length original dance-theater performances (along with several shorter pieces) involving dancers, actors, writers, musicians and visual artists in collaboration. She has collaborated with Rich Devletian (of Ours), Omar Holmon and Will Pellegrini, and has a longstanding working partnership with Justin Woo.
Since 2007 Avianna has directed a dance company rooted strongly in improvisation and collaboration. Alongside her fully produced works, she has produced dozens of live improvisation events involving dancers, actors, musicians, and audience-participants.
Avianna’s work has been presented at the Tank Theater in New York City, and many locations in the New Brunswick, NJ area including the George Street Playhouse, Cabaret Theatre, Loree Theater, Levin Theater, ArtHouse, Tent State University, and The Den (Somerset, NJ).
Avianna has performed for Lydia Bell, Pandora Scooter, Heather Favretto, and Morgan Refakis and in 2007 she performed a solo of her work at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
In 2009 she worked with film artist Jessica Lipman to create the dance-documentary film Inhabit, and now continues to investigate film as a collaborative medium with dance.
Avianna is an avid fire spinner and enjoys writing poetry and pros in whatever spare time she can scrap together.