totally on board with it, because the thinner
you are, the more defined the line is—you
don’t have any curves to obstruct the line of
the technique in ballet.”
She raises her lean right arm toward the
ceiling to demonstrate this concept for me. Her
torso lengthens and her abdominals contract.
Katrina’s left arm completes the line, her hand
curved slightly, punctuating the sentence.
“Ballet goes against what’s really natu-
ral... and modern ended up being a really good fit.” She slouches momentarily, pushing a
stray curl behind her ear before automatically straightening again. “I had known that it was
coming since I was eleven, when my teacher started telling me how to hide my breasts and
my ass. So, I’ve always been trained knowing I have that disadvantage. At first, I kind of
resisted it, because it was honorable to work through it and to get parts in ballet anyway. It
was just going to take so much extra work. Modern is much more realistic for me. There are
plenty of people that are interested in me the way that I am.”
“Like the people here at Purchase,” I prompt. “I had actually never heard of Purchase.
I saw an advertisement for it that had a legit looking dancer and I was like, ‘I’m gonna go
to this audition.’ I had a great time, and Carol Walker was the conservatory representative there,
and she was so intimidating! I loved that. I thought to myself, ‘I cannot wait to come here
because of her.’ But yes, I was definitely drawn here by the attitude of the people.”
Part of that pull for Katrina was the Dance Conservatory’s demanding schedule. She says
that the average day for a dancer lasts from 8:30AM until around 3:00PM. From there, they
have another evening class or are in rehearsals until 10:00PM. Out of 600 applicants that year,
she was one of 58 people to make it into the conservatory.
Katrina surprises me with an immediate shake of her head when I ask her if she, as a
dancer, feels misrepresented at Purchase. “I think that part of the reputation dancers have
is our own fault. We don’t necessarily branch out, which is partially due to the lack of time
that we have free and how much energy has to go into this building and this major. A lot of
dancers don’t have time to prove anything to anyone else. But also, I think in a way they’re
just not really concerned with it, because they’re here for this building.”
16
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