{"id":4991,"date":"2013-04-25T11:41:47","date_gmt":"2013-04-25T11:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dancemogul.com\/news\/?p=4991"},"modified":"2020-03-20T11:21:55","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T15:21:55","slug":"kat-wildish-each-generation-is-the-custodian-of-passing-on-knowledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dancemogul.com\/news\/kat-wildish-each-generation-is-the-custodian-of-passing-on-knowledge\/","title":{"rendered":"Kat Wildish \/ Each Generation is the Custodian of Passing on Knowledge"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Dance Mogul Magazine Exclusive…\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/h1>\n
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Dance Mogul Magazine is honored to present Kat Wildish, a great source of encouragement and information for the next generation of dancers. Kat fully understands the purpose of dance and the importance of passing down information to ensure the success of others. Her selflessness has to lead to an amazing journey through dance, we hope her journey can inspire others to live through acts of giving.<\/p>\n

Kat Wildish grew up in Tampa, Florida, but she shot from the beach to the ballet big time at the age of 15, when she toured the southern United States as a member of Ballet Gala, on stage with such superstars as Rudolf Nureyev, Margot Fonteyn, Cynthia Gregory, and Fernando Bujones. She received further training\u2014on a two-year full scholarship from the Ford Foundation\u2014at the nation\u2019s premier dance academy, the School of American Ballet.<\/p>\n

Kat is one of those rare ballerinas who has appeared with both New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. She performed with NYCB in 1981, dancing works by legendary choreographer\/founder George Balanchine, who hand-picked her to perform in one of his last works, Adagio Lamentoso. In ABT (1986), then under artistic director Mikhail Baryshnikov, she performed in more traditional ballets like The Sleeping Beauty (in his version for ABT, Sir Kenneth MacMillan created the role of the \u201cknitting lady\u201d for Kat; Julie Kent was one of her assistants!). Kat has also been a guest artist with such companies as Zurich Ballet, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, The Eglevsky Ballet (then directed by Edward Villella), Bernhard Ballet, Connecticut Ballet, Fokine Ballet, the American Dance Machine, Dances Patrelle, and Louisville Ballet. Until she retired from the stage in 2007 she danced the Sugar Plum Fairy in annual Nutcrackers in the New York area.<\/p>\n

Kat is unusual in that she didn\u2019t take up teaching after retirement but began giving classes while still a student herself: Her first was at age 15, and in her class was future Joffrey ballerina and Tony-winning dancer Elizabeth Parkinson of Twyla Tharp\u2019s Movin\u2019 Out. Thus, she combines years of practical in-studio experience with decades of systematic training. She was schooled in all of ballet\u2019s great pedagogical traditions: Vaganova technique at Milan\u2019s La Scala under the direction of Rudolf Nureyev, and studies with her personal coach, former Kirov ballerina Kaleria Fedicheva; Cechetti tutelage from her mentor and friend Dick Andros; and Balanchine style from her time at SAB. Throughout her career Kat worked closely with such dance-world luminaries as SAB\u2019s Alexandra Danilova, Suki Schorer, Stanley Williams, and Andrei Kramarevsky; choreographers Sir Kenneth MacMillan and Glen Tetley; and Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo veterans Nicholas Orloff and Anna Youskevitch, wife of danseur Igor Youskevitch. And with a repertoire ranging from Petipal to Bournonville to modern masters like Balanchine and Cranko, she is conversant with a whole spectrum of choreographic styles.<\/p>\n

More recently, Kat participated in American Ballet Theatre\u2019s project of establishing uniform country-wide standards of instruction (for details see abt.org\/education\/certifiedteachers.asp), and she is now an ABT\u00ae Certified Teacher of Primary through Level 7 (the highest) of the ABT\u00ae National Training Curriculum. She has also trained and mentored other teachers, notably for the Dance Educators of America and as a member of the U.S. Faculty of Education of the United Kingdom\u2019s Royal Academy of Dance (for more information, write: faculty@rad.org.uk).<\/p>\n

Kat is a radiant and popular presence on the New York City studio scene: She was a scholarship director and manager at Steps, a longtime teacher at the Broadway Dance Center, and currently serves on the faculty of the Alvin Ailey Extension Program, one of the country\u2019s top dance-education centers. Her approach to teaching is both witty and rigorous, creating a non-competitive, nonjudgmental atmosphere that is encouraging to beginners and professionals alike. At the barre Kat pays special attention to placement, injury prevention\u2014important for adult students\u2014and careful, anatomically sound work. Yet her classes are also eminently \u201cdanceable,\u201d emphasizing musicality, harmony, line, and stage presence.<\/p>\n

At The Ailey Extension, she not only teaches multilevel adult ballet and pointe classes\u201412 per week\u2014but produces and directs several sold-out student dance showcases each year. These \u201cPerforming in NY Showcases\u201d include stagings of classical repertoire for her own students and performances by other groups in a variety of genres, from hip-hop to modern to tap. She teaches privately as well and has coached dancers for major ballet competitions such as the Youth America Grand Prix. And while Kat is usually to be found on her home ground, she gives a number of elite workshops nationwide and around the world: in Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and, most recently, Italy.<\/p>\n

Kat has been cited in the media as a master teacher, notably in the New York Times article, \u201cSee You at the Barre\u201d by Daniel C. Wakin (March 23, 2007), and in issues of Dance Teacher and Pointe magazines. She has also created her own online ballet community: maintaining this web site; producing an engaging, informative monthly newsletter; and keeping in touch with students and colleagues through Facebook.<\/p>\n

To study with Kat is to be the beneficiary of superlative technical training, a lifetime of accumulated ballet lore, and a generous, elegant spirit. She prepares her students not only to dance beautifully but to live with grace.<\/p>\n

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Kat & Slawomir Wolzniac Photo Credit: A .Coopchik.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> At what age did you\u00a0develop\u00a0a passion for the arts?
\nKat Wildish:<\/strong> The winter of 8 yrs old when we took a school trip to see the ballet “Little Match Girl” in Tampa Florida. The lead dancer inspired me so very much, she is beautiful. Later in my life, I was teaching a course to teachers and she was introduced to me. What a great experience as she inspired my whole career with her dancing. We still stay in touch with Facebook.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> Who were some of your early\u00a0inspirations?
\nKat Wildish:<\/strong> Jinkey Barker (see above), my main ballet teacher Anzia Arsenault, Margot\u00a0Fonteyn, Gelsey Kirkland,<\/em> Merle Park, Lynn Seymour, Violette Verdy, \u00a0Allegra Kent, Antoinette Sibley.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> \u00a0Were your parents supportive of your passion for dance?
\nKat Wildish:<\/strong> My dad was, he didn’t really know much about ballet he played the piano for a living.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> \u00a0When did you know that you could become a professional?
\nKat Wildish:<\/strong> When I was promoted to principal dancer in my home town, Tampa at 13 yrs old! It was a freak promotion as the lead dancer had a medical problem and I\u00a0really\u00a0was the only one who knew the parts.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> \u00a0How did you develop your work ethic?
\nKat Wildish:<\/strong> Practiced more.\u00a0I really wasn’t naturally talented, I worked in the back of the room and learned everything (even the men\u2019s parts- they are great fun), and everybody’s parts so when anyone was absent\u00a0I hoped to stand in for them, the more you do the more experience you have doing it.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> You have had\u00a0numerous\u00a0opportunities and accomplishments, what have been some of your most memorable?
\nKat Wildish:<\/strong> Being accepted into the School of American ballet then later being chosen by Mr.\u00a0\u00a0Balanchine to perform in one of his last ballets\u00a0<\/em>Adagio Lamentoso with new York City ballet; Also to be chosen by\u00a0Mikhail\u00a0\u00a0Baryshnikov\u00a0<\/em>to join ABT 1986!!<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> Why is it important to give back to\u00a0the\u00a0dance community while still achieving success?
\nKat Wildish:<\/strong> It\u2019s so important to inspire others to pursue their dreams no matter what age they are, and to make and offer up opportunities for others to express themselves the very best they can, that way we grow a knowledgeable, more educated, refined dance community & audience, who really appreciate the work that goes into creating something very special.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> \u00a0What advice would you have for the younger generation of dancers that want to become professionals?
\nKat Wildish:<\/strong> Learn everything about dance, not just one genre, allow yourself to become more than you could even dream. Ask for advice from those who have gone before, they have the knowledge you cannot even imagine. Take notes, books, and books full of notes, choreography, favorite class combos, corrections you can look at those notes and use them to continue to grow and also inspire others.<\/p>\n

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<\/b>The cast of March 2013<\/b>Photo Credit: A.Coopchik.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> \u00a0How do you get the younger generation to understand that the\u00a0discipline\u00a0in dance is the same\u00a0discipline\u00a0that needs to be\u00a0executed\u00a0in an educational setting?
\nKat Wildish:<\/strong> The time you set aside for studying\/being in the studio is an important time no fooling around. We can fool around outside of class, but in class, take notes so that when it’s time for the big test or performance you can go over your notes and make sure all the details have been covered. Don’t think you will remember everything, do it, write it down, read it, see it dream that you are doing it and then you can get it done because it’s in you deep!!!<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> \u00a0How important is it that dancers try to leave legacies instead of bits and pieces of momentary satisfaction?
\nKat Wildish:<\/strong> Dance is one of the great all-time and oldest art forms (music, Literature & dance). Each generation is the custodian of passing on the knowledge to the next. It should be the responsibility of anyone who is knowledgeable about dance, who is able to keep this living art alive to give this gift. \u00a0Many of the things we experience through dance cannot be written and it\u2019s a treasure that only dancers can really pass to another dancer.<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> \u00a0What are you currently doing now to elevate the craft?
\nKat Wildish:<\/strong> I teach classical ballet to adults here in NYC and around the country & the world in open classes, preparatory workshops, masterclasses, individual private coaching conventions and the like. I retired from the stage Dec 2007 as the ‘sugar plum fairy” and now travel a lot worldwide. To teach and develop an appreciation for the art of classical ballet. Three times per year Kat Wildish Presents: Performing in NYC weekend of three sold-out performances, to allow dancers & choreographers of all ages and all genres to pursue their performing education\/presentations \u00a0On stage in NYC. We have Ballet, jazz, tap, Hip-hop, Horten, ballroom, swing, salsa and many many more dance groups on each program. www.<\/wbr>katwildishshowcase.com<\/a>\u00a0.<\/strong>also Ballet 4 Adults, \u00a0http:\/\/ballet4adults.com\/<\/a>\u00a0a certification program for teachers to teach adults. You can find me teaching ballet at the Ailey Extension in NY\u00a0http:\/\/www.alvinailey.org\/<\/wbr>ailey-extension\/faculty\/kat-<\/wbr>wildish<\/a>\u00a0Also summer dance programs (children\u00a0& adults) in Italy\u00a0https:\/\/www.facebook.<\/wbr>com\/events\/108058099364212\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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Kat teaching Pointe class Photo Credit: Kyle Froman<\/em><\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> Do you feel a publication like Dance Mogul is needed to connect the Professionals with the next generation to help guide them to their goals and aspirations?
\nKat Wildish:\u00a0<\/strong>Dance Mogul can help connect the generations to respect the past and carry good values into the future with class and\u00a0aplomb\u00a0(complete and confident composure or self-assurance: poise)<\/p>\n

Dance Mogul:<\/strong> \u00a0Is there anyone you would like to thank for helping you on your journey?
\nKat Wildish:<\/strong> Jinky Barker (see above) again my first inspiration. Professor Dick Andros, he pulled me back from a deep slump in my career. He said to come back for you, forget the others and what they do or say come back and dance for you because you are a dancer.RIP Mr. A!!!<\/p>\n[vc_row][vc_column]