Stazia Ritch

Stazia was raised in Apex, North Carolina and trained pre-professionally for many years at the Academy for the Performing Arts, with a focus on contemporary dance. Since 2020, she has been a company member with the OM Grown Dancers under the direction of Courtney OM. After graduating high school in 2019, she began to explore her passion for teaching and choreographing at local studios and public schools.

She is currently focused on mentoring and training dancers of all ages, mostly within the company program at APA and the TRAIN program at Threehouse Studios. Stazia is creatively driven through her personal exploration of intuitive and sensation-based movement. She encourages using tools like improvisation and yoga to develop body awareness and individualized artistry in her students. Her movement and choreography has been influenced through training and performing work by artists such as Emily Greenwell, Nancy Andrews Roque, Marcos Roque, Ashley Lindsay, Brooke Averette, and many more.