Ashton Craven

Ashton Craven is a Chicago-based contemporary and tap artist. She spent her childhood training at Dancenter North in Libertyville under the direction of Stacy Keller. Ashton holds a B.A. in Dance and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of California-Irvine, where she studied with Molly Lynch, Charlotte Griffin, Lar Lubovitch, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, and Tong Wang. Her passion for science and arts led her to pursue an interdisciplinary research thesis, culminating in a dance film using contemporary movement to explain microbial coevolution. Ashton hopes to continue exploring biological-centered themes in her movement and use dance as a method of scientific education and accessibility.

Ashton currently trains with Chicago Movement Collective under the guidance of Ethan Kirschbaum and as a guest artist with Darvin Dances. Since returning to Chicago, she has also performed in works by Jacqueline Burnett and Jonathan Alsberry. Ashton is thrilled to join Alluvion this season!