Katie Harmon
Company Artist with Aerial Dance Chicago / Multimedia Dance Artists
2018
Education: Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a Concentration in Performance, Choreography, and Theory, UNC Charlotte (2018)
Hometown: Rutherfordton, NC
After graduation, Katie auditioned for Aerial Dance Chicago and was offered an apprentice position, so she packed up and relocated to Chicago. Six months later, she was promoted to a company artist. “I have been with ADC for a little over two years now, and I am loving it!” she says. “We combine contemporary dance and ballet with aerial work on apparatuses like silks, sling, lyra, rope and harness, free barre, and curved board.” When she is not rehearsing or performing with ADC, she teaches at Dixon Dance Academy, a local dance studio where she directs the ballet program and teaches jazz technique, contemporary, and competition teams.
Katie’s love for the art goes beyond teaching and performing. “I also choreograph, edit, and produce dance films,” she explains. “My debut film State. was featured in Carolina Muse Magazine and my most recent film New Lament has been screened by Palm Springs International Dance Festival, Dance on Screen Alabama, Sit Still Projects, and Banks Performance Project so far!”
Reflecting on her time at Charlotte, she says her education in the Department of Dance was vital to her success as a professional dancer. “It opened my eyes to a side of dance that I knew nothing about as an incoming freshman. My time training with the incredible faculty in the department not only gave me the technical foundation to work in the field, but also invaluable insights on how to navigate the professional dance world. Without the guidance of professors like Kim Jones, E.E. Balcos, Rachel Tucker, Missy Coyle, Delia Neil, Tamara Williams, Kaustavi Sarkar, and Gretchen Alterowitz, I would definitely not be living, working, and performing today!”
She continues, “I’m thankful that the CoA+A departments are so interconnected because I discovered my love of aerial work through theatre professor Carlos Cruz’s circus classes. I learned so much about collaboration while creating with students in the School of Architecture, and I gained experience with digital editing programs in my dance history classes. The opportunities I had to work with notable guest artists, amazing educational trips, and the rigorous physical/academic curriculum taught me lessons that I call upon every day as a performer, choreographer, and teacher. The personal and professional relationships I developed at UNC Charlotte have shaped who I am as an artist.”
Katie said it’s impossible for her to choose just one favorite memory of her time in the College. “I loved working with Claudia Lavista during my final semester,” she says. “We performed her piece PROW, a cyclic dance about adversity in migration with live accompaniment by Shamou. I’ve never felt so close to a cast. But, even though that experience meant so much to me, if I have to pick one memory it would definitely be studying abroad in Italy with professors Kim Jones and E.E. Balcos. We spent two weeks dancing in Torino and one week at Orsolina 28. We made memories I will never forget, and I met the love of my life on that trip! Paolo and I live together in Chicago now with our dog Patrick, and we just celebrated our three-year anniversary!”
If Katie had one piece of advice to share with current and prospective dance students, it would be: “Engaging with dance on a collegiate level is very different from training at a studio in high school. Learn how to be your own motivator!”