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professional work

This page highlights major professional choreographic work. Her group, rogue wave, presents work at the intersection of psychology and movement, often with a comedic twist. Rogue waves are unusually large, unpredictable and suddenly appearing surface waves. To see Katie's teaching highlights, and choreography on students of all ages, visit here.

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major choreographic works

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bouquet

Neuroscientists classify individuals as dandelions (resilient & able to thrive in a variety of environments), orchids (highly sensitive & reactive), or tulips, who exist somewhere in between. These outcomes are partially determined by epigenetics, the way in which our upbringing, and the generations before, influences genetic expression.

 

bouquet challenges the cast to examine the unique cultural & demographic experiences that have played formative roles in our development. Various permutations of dancers are matched with the intention of analyzing how our movement changes based on the similarity, or lack thereof, of our respective “flower profiles.” In this, we ask the audience to consider what their own flower might be, and how it feels to be a part of the greater meadow, your community.

Excerpts Premiere: unKEMpT Dance Festival, Arts on Site, New York, January 2023

ShownEmerging Artist Showcase, New York, March 2023

Spring for Spring Dance Festival, Metuchen, NJ, June 2023

Dragons Egg Creates

Evening Length: October 6-8, 11th, 2023, The Tank

Work received a residency from Dragon's Egg for further development, summer 2023

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FlIP & JIVE

Flip & Jive looks at the origins of Disco Dance while finding trust and fluidity in new physical partnering.

Excerpts Premiere: 30-30-30, Dixon Place, December 2023

Shown: unKEMpT Dance Festival, The Tank, January 2024

Estia Day Festival, PinkFROG Cafe, February 2024

Emerging Artists Theatre, March 2024

Jump on!

During exercise, three chemicals are released in different areas of the brain - dopamine, noradrenaline, and serotonin. These chemicals affect function and development, causing a potential restructuring of your brain to ward against neurological disorders and diseases. Through embodying physical exercises from dance to jump roping to trampoline, a cast of four works to push our bodies to find these chemical releases. We will also consider what propels us to workout, and what forces us to “stay in the game” versus choosing to exit, finding our own unique characters to explore within the work.

Premiere: Bloom Dance Festival, The Tank, December 2023

Shown:unKEMpT Dance Festival, The Tank, January 2024

Dance Parade NYC, May 2024

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gap junction

gap junction looks into the neurological pathways involved in potentially traumatic events. A cast of six finds their similarities and differences in the brain through movement, drawing on their own experiences, particularily Messina's: a Sicilian-American who spent her formative years in a multi-generational household, followed by eight years in the urban south.

Excerpts Premiere: Fertile Ground, Greenspace, Queens, NY, Spring 2022

Shown: The Village, Lower East Side, Spring 2022

Artist After Hours, Brooklyn, Spring 2022

Spring for Spring, Metuchen, NJ Spring 2022

HOT Dance!, Dixon Place, Summer 2022

Evening Length: Sept 25-Oct 1, 2022, The Tank, Manhattan, NY 

March 2023, Atlanta Science Festival, Atlanta, GA

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bon vivant

Created in collaboration with Emmy Wildermuth

"bon vivant" deconstructs the notion of traditional ballet into weighted, fast floorwork and partnering while maintaining that nostalgic feel and classical music emphasis.

Premiere: unKEMpT Dance Festival, Arts on Site, January 2023

Shown: Movement II Dance Festival, 28th Street Theater, February 2023

Atlanta Science Festival, March 2023

Oklahoma Dance Festival, Norman, OK, July 2023

Work received residency from Everwood Artist Retreat for further development

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we let our hair down

This project was supported by a Puffin Foundation Grant

Utilizing highly detailed and physical movement, this duet explores the nature of home. What does home mean when two dancers get together in the studio with backgrounds in very different family structures and cultural regions of the US?  Is home always a place or can it be people or times too? Through humorous and introspective conversations and journaling, we work to create duets that are universal in the language of relationships that transcend boundaries.

Premiere: Dixon Place, New York, NY, June 2022

Shown: An-Tre Portugal, Spring 2022

Hottie Bop, Williamsburg, NY, June 2022

Film created with aid from Puffin Foundation

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gallery:
retrospect

Created in collaboration with Daniel Ricardo Rocha Cartagena

Looks at shared memories, traumas, and past experiences. Sifting through these experiences how do we create a living, breathing collaboration.

Premiered: Roxey Ballet River Dance Festival

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FLesh memories

“Jack of all trades, master of none.” But what if, in this solo, I take this as a positive, and create a dance for myself that is a “flesh memory” of all the dance experiences I have had on a Marley floor, each contributing to the dancer and person I am today?

Premiered: Roxey Ballet Rise Fundraiser, Lambertville, NJ
November 2021

Shown: Koresh Dance Festival, Philadelphia, January 2022

Astoria Dance Festival, July 2022

weave

This project was supported by a City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs Grant 

Premiered: Dance Canvas Skyline Series, Spring 2021

Excerpts: Fall for Fall Dance Festival, Fall 2020

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further west

Looking at unlikely parings that reveal in the most unexpected ways

Premiered: Spring for Spring Dance Festival, April 2021

Shown: KYL/D’s Inhale Performance Series, Philadelphia, October 2021

Decatur City Dance, November 2021

through-line

A cast of six dancers in a work that looks at moments in time - both personally and historically - where strangers connect. Originally meant as a live work to premiere on March 23, 2020, it was converted into a high-quality film premiering Summer 2021

Premiering: Dance Canvas, Summer 2021, Ferst Center for the Performing Arts, Atlanta, GA

Excerpts: Emory University, February 2020

 

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FOR BODIES

A cast of four dancers, investigating each of their personal narratives through film. Emphasizing different camera angles, angles not possible in live performance, and how we move together, alone.

Premiering: femmefest virtual festival, August 2020

Shown: Fall for Fall Dance Festival, Sept 11-13 2020

Modco Dance Company, The Quarantine Chronicles, Fall 2020

Body Language Lab, Culture Mash, Detroit, MI Winter 2020

game.set.match.

A work that examines the relationship between audience and performer, and the range of experiences that this reveals. 

 

Premiered: Immerse ATL, Spring 2019, Emory Performing Arts Studio, Atlanta, GA

Shown: play.risk.research, Fall 2019, Active Space, Atlanta, GA             

Yes! Dance Festival, Winter 2019, Firehouse Playhouse, Richmond, VA

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hour eleven

Why does the brain only sometimes link confinement to danger? What if the confinement is in an idea or situation, not a place?

 

Premiered: Immerse ATL, Spring 2019, Emory Performing Arts Studio, Atlanta, GA

OTher choreographic works

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aftershock

Emory University 2018

Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts

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Chronicle

Dance Film

Breaking New Ground Dance Festival 2020

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phase one.

Emory University 2017

Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts

CHOREOGRAPHIC REEL

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