Originally from Massachusetts, Victoria L. Awkward trained at Impulse Dance Center with LuAnn Pagella and worked with Boston-based artists such as Karen Krolak. A graduate of Goucher College with honors in Dance, Visual Art, and Education, she danced with Goucher Repertory Dance Ensemble and performed in works by Sidra Bell, Christian Von Howard, Helen Simoneau, Iyun Ashani Harrison, Iquail Shaheed, and others. She is a freelance artist and has worked with Shura Baryshnikov and Levi Marsman at Boston Lyric Opera, in addition to Ashani Dances, Attn: Dance, The Davis Sisters, Heather Stewart, Jenna Pollack, and Ruckus Dance. As Director of VLA DANCE, Ms. Awkward aims to celebrate the talents and artistries of Boston through contemporary dance She has been a guest teacher at Salem State University and the Head Dance Coach at Middlesex School in Concord. Newly appointed Visual Arts Coordinator at the West End House, her passion for education spans beyond the dance classroom, continually deepening her teaching practices through her work as a mentee with Cambridge-based Midday Movement Series and United Kingdom-based Alleyne Dance.