Professional Artist Katherine Thacker shares about her experiences with Pilates and stepping into her artistic identity as a professional.
Katherine was born and raised in Brandon, Florida. She took her first ballet class at the Dance Center when she was five and continued to train under the instruction of Ms. Alice H. Bock, as well as the other Dance Center Staff, until she joined the Brandon Ballet Professional Training Program in 2015. This is her ninth season with Brandon Ballet and her second season as a Professional Artist. Katherine has participated in Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP), Florida Youth Dance Gala, and has attended summer programs in Cincinnati and Albuquerque. She is currently studying towards a degree in Exercise Physiology with a focus on Athletic strengthening and rehabilitation. She is on staff at Spark Fitness as a Pilates Instructor and she also teaches for the Dance Center. “It’s a beautiful thing when a career and passion come together.”
You teach Pilates at Spark Fitness. How does your knowledge of Pilates affect your dancing and understanding of the body?
I’ll start with a blanket statement that YES, Pilates has GREATLY helped with my understanding of dance and movement! Joseph Pilates created Pilates on dancers so naturally the two go hand in hand. In Pilates, we focus on the small muscle groups more than the larger ones, like our quadriceps. This translates to the dance realm nicely because, as dancers, we also try to activate those small muscles, for instance the 6 deep lateral rotators, without necessarily activating the larger muscles around it. Pilates has helped me to be more aware of what those small muscles feel like and how to access them without engaging and tensing every muscle in my body. Another way Pilates has been beneficial is teaching me how to connect to my core. In Pilates, everything is core based and every movement initiates from the core of our bodies. If you’re a dancer, you’ve heard that one correction, “engage your abs,” but it wasn’t until I started Pilates that I had any idea what that felt like, let alone how to achieve it. And let me just say that things, such as holding extensions, become much easier and you feel much stronger when you realize how to truly engage your core! It has also taught me that every single body is different and not one movement in Pilates or dance will look the same on any two people, and that that is okay, it doesn’t have to. The goal is to teach everybody how to reach that level of awareness within themselves.
This is your second season as a professional artist. What is that transition like?
It has definitely been a year of transition for me but I have enjoyed stepping into this new role! I would say that one of the main things is having lots of self motivation and focus. Because your teachers aren’t going to pick apart everything you do anymore, you have to do that for yourself and really be aware of the details that you personally need to work on. Another difference is realizing that the improvements aren’t going to be as huge and drastic anymore. Not to say improvements don’t happen, but they are smaller and more personal. Lastly, even though technique still needs to be maintained, as I advance in my training, it is more about working on making what I have work for me and my roles and figuring out how to use my technique and artistry to achieve the idea the choreographer has given me, rather than before, when I was working to build a foundation and learn what my body was capable of and its limits.
What is your go to dance snack?
I love nutrition and discovering different ways of fueling my body for both rehearsal and performance! You can always, always, always find me snacking on roasted almonds on a day to day basis! I love them lightly salted, plain, and cocoa dusted! Another daily favorite are dates that I slice and fill with a spoonful of almond butter and keep refrigerated! Those little bite sized snacks give me protein from the nut butter, and good carbs from the date! You can always find an avocado, organic gummy bears, life saver hard peppermints, beet juice powder, and flax crackers in my performance bag!
What would you do if you weren’t a dancer?
If I weren’t a dancer, I would probably be a Registered Dietician or Nutritionist as well as what I am studying currently, which is Physical Therapist!
What is your dream role?
One of my dream roles for as long as I can remember has been Juliet from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet! I don’t have an exact reason, but that role has always been an aspiration of mine! Another is the Dew Drop Fairy from The Nutcracker! That music always lets me know that its Christmas time, and the steady rhythm of the waltz makes me feel calm and commanding all at the same time! The last role that comes to mind is the “After The Rain Pas de Deux” by Christopher Wheeldon! That Pas has mesmerized me every time since I saw it for the first time live!
What is your best dance memory?
I have two that immediately come to mind! The first was probably the most fun that I’ve ever had on stage! I was cast as governess in Party Scene of The Nutcracker with my best friend! That was one of the most genuine roles I’ve performed! It was a role that I could really stretch and make my own artistically! Second best memory is definitely when I get to perform at the Children’s Hospital and do patient visits. Seeing the huge smiles and feeling the joy from those kids makes every blister and sore muscle worth it. It makes my heart happy that I am able to share the joy that dance brings me with so many children!
Catch Katherine Thacker performing in Brandon Ballet’s 2019 production of The Nutcracker!
December 7 at 7:30PM and December 8th at 3PM.
