Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathryn Morgan.
Hi Kathryn, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I began dancing as a child. It was the only thing I ever wanted to do! At age 15, I moved to NYC to study at the School of American Ballet, and at age 17, I was hired into New York City Ballet. I was fast-tracked and danced roles like Juliet at age 17, the Sugarplum Fairy at 19, and Princess Aurora at 20. At 21, I was promoted to soloist. Everything was wonderful until I began to feel very sick. Very long story short, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition, Hashimotos, and it completed wrecked my body. I ended up having to leave NYC Ballet and stop dancing for quite a while.
Through that process, I began a YouTube channel and started developing my own brand. I began teaching, speaking, creating content, and more. It was a whole second career for me. I managed my symptoms and got back to dancing. I did a short stint as a soloist with Miami City Ballet, but now I freelance and guest perform. My husband, Chris, and I (meeting through the dance world) have since opened our own school, Dance Academy of Southern California. Chris was a first soloist with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, UT, and had a 17-year career there. But through meeting, planning our life together, and both of us wanting a new path, we decided to open DASoCal. His family is here, and it just seemed like the right time. We both had rough experiences in the ballet world, so our goal is to always maintain a happy and healthy environment for our students. The joy of ballet is what drives us. While I’m still dancing and managing my own brand, we both teach and hope to pass on our knowledge to our incredible students.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not smooth at all! In addition to dealing with an autoimmune condition, I was also horribly body-shamed in the ballet world. It’s a tough place, so my message is always that “ballet is for everyone!”.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
“Kathryn Morgan is a modern-day ballerina, blazing a career path for herself outside of the confines of company life. In addition to being a popular performer, teacher, judge, and influencer, Kathryn is the founder of Kathryn Morgan & Friends, a community focused on the joy that ballet can bring to dancers when they are valued for who they are above their level of proficiency. Kathryn began her professional career in 2006 as an apprentice with New York City Ballet and was promoted to soloist in 2009. She left the company in 2012 while battling an auto-immune illness and made an awe-inspiring return to the stage seven years later as a soloist with Miami City Ballet. She danced with MCB for a year before making a decision to step away from company life in 2020 to pursue dancing on her own terms. As a performer, Kathryn is known for her feminine, artistic quality and musicality; some of her more notable performances include Aurora in Peter Martins’ Sleeping Beauty, Juliet in Peter Martins’ Romeo & Juliet, and the Striptease girl in George Balanchine’s Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.”
I’m a ballerina well-known for my feminine artistic qualities. My best roles as a dancer are the dramatic acting roles like Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet.” In my business, I am blazing a new trail as a dance educator and industry leader and am focused on expanding ballet’s reach by making it more relatable and accessible. My message is that ballet is for everyone. All are welcome at our school and workshops. We won’t turn you away based on your genetics. All you need is a strong work ethic and a love of ballet! I am known for pulling back the curtain and dusting away the cobwebs on the ballet world. It needs to move forward. I also have my own company and ballet community, Kathryn Morgan and Friends. Here is the description of my company.
“Founded in 2020 by respected ballerina, educator, judge, and influencer Kathryn Morgan, Kathryn Morgan & Friends is a ballet community for dancers of all ages and aspirations. It was born out of a desire to strip ballet of its more harmful practices and build a space where dancers are valued for who they are as people above their level of proficiency — where the joy of focusing on the process more than the product is intentionally kept front and center. Kathryn Morgan & Friends currently offers online classes, one-on-one coaching, digital and in-person workshops and is working towards producing professional performances at multiple locations across the country. While many of Kathryn Morgan & Friends’ students have professional aspirations, Kathryn encourages all dancers to explore what’s possible when you take away the idea of “making it” as a ballerina and to continually revisit what initially made them fall in love with ballet.”
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I love business podcasts as well as mindset ones. I love using my calendar app – it’s the only way I can stay on top of everything!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dasocal.com, www.kmandfriends.com, www.kathrynmorganonline.com
- Instagram: @kathryn_morgan @kmandfriends
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KathrynMorganBallet
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Tutugirlkem
- Other: (the 3 URLs above)
Image Credits
Jonathan Givens
Katie Ging Photography
Paul Kolnik
