Archives > Plano Star-courier > Plano Insider
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
Movers and Shakers
Full name: Katharine Elizabeth Martin (I have always been called "Katie")
Job title: Faculty member and resident choreographer of Chamberlain Performing Arts
How long you've been that: I am starting my fifth year as a faculty member with the school.
Birthday: December 20, 1984
Place born: Baylor Hospital in Dallas, Texas
Are you a youngest, middle or oldest child? The youngest of two children. I have a brother who is 6 years older.
Your philosophy on age: I don't know that I have a philosophy on age, but I’ll be turning 25 soon and it’s freaking me out! "Twenty-five" sounds very grown up, and I still feel like a kid! I am starting to realize how fast the years go by.
Favorite part of your day: I love the end of the day, when work and chores are over, and I can put on my PJs and curl up on the sofa with my animals, Scooter and Bo.
What time do you wake up in the morning? What's "morning?" Most of the time I have a hard time getting to sleep before 2 am, and then I need a lot of sleep! I am a true night owl by nature!
Something almost nobody knows about you: I love scary horror movies!
Something you're known for: Dancing, of course! My friends call me "The Dancing Queen," because I'm always dancing, even when I don't realize it. When I was growing up, I was known as the entertainer in the family and was always putting on a show. Now I'm dancing for the new generation of little ones in my family - they call me Katie Ballerina.
Name 5 things that are in your purse: Cell phone, wallet, keys, loose change, and a bunch of old receipts.
Favorite clothing designer or place to shop: When I can splurge, I love the unique clothes at this furniture boutique in the Shops of Legacy, called FUSION.
The last time that you got all dressed up in evening wear: It was last December in Houston, at a black tie holiday party I attended with a friend and his family.
Name the shade of lipstick you wear, if you can: Nothing exciting here. Never the same, always neutral.
Favorite home-cooked meal: My Grandmother's Thanksgiving dinner; turkey, dressing, and cranberries.
Favorite dessert: Creme Brulee. I'm still trying to perfect this recipe at home.
Vegetable that you won't touch: I touch them all! I was the kid who would try anything.
Favorite band when you were 20: The "Classic Rock" phase - The Doors, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin.
Favorite band now: There is never just one band for me. Some of my favorites now are Band of Horses,
Bloc Party, and Radiohead.
Last CD that you bought: I just downloaded Band of Horse's Everything all the Time album into my iPhone.
As a new choreographer, with Peter and the Wolf as your debut, what do you hope to bring to the ballet? My main goal from the beginning has been to bring a certain excitement to the ballet. I hope the new choreography and the character development we have been working on, along with the new sets and costumes, will fill the stage with activity and tell the story in a way that makes it fun for all ages to watch. I especially want it to be fun for kids to watch, so they will like going to the theater to see ballet.
What has been your biggest challenge with the production so far? The biggest challenge by far was focusing on choreographing the actual steps before I even knew who some of the dancers were going to be. The choreography in general has come from what I would do naturally when I heard the music, and is based on my abilities and style. For the dancers in the company, I have not altered this original choreography to match their abilities, but instead have expected them to meet the challenges of learning it and using it to create their characters. The remainder of the choreography, however, which is for characters that are different from what I would typically dance - like Peter, the Wolf, and the Grandfather, has required some adjustments and been more of a challenge. To choreograph for the part of Peter, for instance, I have had to imagine how a young boy would dance, and that is not a natural process for me.
What aspect of Peter and the Wolf are you most excited about? I am most excited about opening night! I can't wait to see what the final product will be - on a stage, with sets, costumes, and lighting. I have a vision in my head of what it will be, but I know it will be different from that, so I can't wait to see it. Just to see that it's possible for some of my ideas and hard work to actually turn into a full production is very exciting to me.
Explain the process of choreographing a ballet from start to finish. For me, it starts with knowing the music. I listen to the music over and over, until I can hear it in my head even when it's not playing. I can never hear any music without visualizing dance, so I am always dancing randomly around my house while it is playing. At this point, I start to "hear" it all the time and even start to dream about it. I will start to visualize the entire performance in general terms - the patterns, entrances and exits from the stage, etc. – before I even think about specific steps in the choreography.
The hard part begins when I have to focus and choreograph the specific movements. I do this by breaking the piece into sections or roles and working on them one by one. I meet with the individual dancer or dancers and set or teach each piece of the choreography. Later, we pull all the sections together in one big rehearsal. After that, it's all about refinement, learning to work with props, creating "characters" through acting and pantomime, and a million other details. Then we rehearse over and over - until it's perfect!
Can you give a ballpark figure of how many hours you've spent in the studio working on this production? By the end of dress rehearsal, I estimate that we will have spent approximately 50 hours over a six week period in studio and theater rehearsals. This doesn't include the time spent preparing the choreography before any studio rehearsal could take place.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: Plano Insider «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
