Avalon Rathgeb graduated from Bird college in 2009 after studying on a 3 year full time scholarship. Since graduating she has received two internships from the American Tap Dance Foundation 2009/11, a scholarship for the Los Angeles Tap festival 2012 and was the winner of the 2013 cutting contest at Stockholm Tap Festival. Avalon was invited to accept 1 of 25 places reserved for outstanding dancers in the 2014 Tap programme at the School at Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts, USA. Her career highlights include dancing in the opening ceremony of London 2012 Olympic Games and the closing ceremony of the European games, Baku, Azerbaijan 2015.
Avalon was a company member of Grant Swift’s TeAyPe in Melbourne- Australia, was asked in 2014 to join Tapestry Dance Company, North America’s only full time and paid Tap dance company. Avalon is the Artistic Director of Old Kent Road which she founded in London in 2014. Her first show ‘Fall Out’ was accepted to perform at Resolution! 2015, it received Arts Council England funding and premiered their first full length show in 2016 and are currently preparing for a 2017 and 2018 tour.
As a solo artist Avalon frequently teaches and performs internationally for tap festivals and events including; Dubrovnik Tap Festival – Croatia, Taptastic – Germany, Stockholm Tap festival – Sweden, Prague City Tap festival – Czech Republic, Australian Tap festival, Escola Luthier Dansa, Tanzhaus – Dusseldorf, Tip-Tap – Poland, Moscato Tap Festival – Italy, Tapworks – Malaysia, workshops in Singapore and she was featured in the documentary ‘Tapworld’. In the UK she has recently performed at the Harrods Boxing day opening celebration, the 1st International Chinese Film Awards and interviewed for BBC Radio London. In the UK Avalon teaches at Bird College, Pineapple Dance Studios and South London Dance Studios.
Avalon looks forward to the summer of 2017 where she will be creating a show in Kuwait, performing with Old Kent Road at Edinburgh Fringe Festival and The Bunker Dance Festival as well as teaching at Bolzano Tanz International Festival Of Dance.