Katie (she/her) is a Chicago-based teacher and director. Before moving to Chicago in 2004, she was a company member with Kentucky Ballet Theatre in Lexington, KY where she performed principal and soloist roles in Giselle, Paquita, Dracula, The Nutcracker, and various repertory pieces. In Chicago, she performed as a freelance dancer in works by choreographers Peter Carpenter, Autumn Eckman, Emily Stein, and August Tye, among others.

Katie has taught ballet technique, pointe, and repertory classes to all ages and ability levels for 20 years. She is currently on faculty at Dance Academy of Libertyville and Extensions Dance Center. She has taught company class for several professional companies in Chicago and was the ballet mistress for Nomi Dance Company. Her students have gone on to prestigious college dance programs and professional careers in the ballet, contemporary, and commercial dance industries.

Katie is the founding director of Dance in the Parks. The company’s  mission is to bring free, professional dance performances to new audiences in the most accessible venues in Chicago—neighborhood parks. The company hopes to create new dance audiences by presenting professional concerts in a relaxed, casual atmosphere and building future relationships with the greater Chicago dance community.  The company has reached more than 12,000 audience members in its 14 seasons.

Photo by August Tye