"Dance Moms" Darling Ava Cota Slays on the Runway at New York Fashion Week

You probably know Ava Cota as the lovely, leggy dancer who was rejected from the Abby Lee Dance Company, on “Dance Moms,” because she was “too tall.” Now, that lanky frame is propelling her career as a model. Ava just made her New York Fashion Week runway debut, and we’re guessing it won’t be the last time the six-foot beauty graces NYC’s catwalks.

Ava thinks walking the runway isn’t too different from dancing. “Dancing and modeling—they’re both a performance,” she says. “You become a character when you’re on the runway. You have to embrace whether the look you’re wearing is flowy or harsh or edgy. You’re not just walking.”

Ava walks the runway for New York Fashion Week (courtesy Ava Cota)

And while walking is part of the job description, that task becomes much more intimidating in six-inch heels. But Ava says that compared to pointe shoes, the heels are a breeze.

Though Ava gives her dance training a great deal of credit for her smooth transition into modeling, some of it has to do with good old genetics. After all, her mother used to model, gracing runways from the U.S. to Paris. “I grew up watching my mom on the runway,” Ava says. “She was the one who taught me how to walk.”

Ava loves that the dance and fashion worlds have begun to collide. “All of the arts are coming together,” she says. “You go to fashion shows and there are dancers performing, and dancers are becoming models. Its amazing.”

Check out her glamorous debut below.