Ms. Katie

Creator of all BODIES dance

A light skinned woman with light brown hair in a pixie cut is pictured from the shoulders up with her hand lifted close to her chin. An image of blurry young dancers is in the background in a mirror behind her.

Hi! I'm Ms. Katie. I live in Anthem and love hanging out with my husband and my son at one of our beautiful parks. I LOVE to dance. I was lucky to get to dance as a professional for a number of years. Now, I love dancing with people of all abilities! I continue to learn about how to offer my love of dance to everyone. I honor and celebrate the differences and similarities of my fellow dancers in my classes. I am inspired by their pursuit of and creativity in movement. I strive to offer classes that ANYONE can join as well as assist with inclusion of varied abilities into main stream dance education.

Contact Ms. Katie at: kirwan.katie@yahoo.com

A woman with a rainbow T-shirt and and a light pink long tutu stands smiling facing a mirror holding her phone. She has a pink chin length wig and ballet shoes on. Her Left hand is lifted to the side. She stands in a dance studio with pink curtains drawn to reveal the mirror.

Current Work

Ms. Katie is on staff at Powerhouse Dance in Anthem instructing ballet and adaptive dance classes.

Ms. Katie is a licensed Occupational Therapist at HonorHealth Outpatient Therapy Services in Peoria and at United Cerebral Palsy of AZ in Phoenix.

She works with:

Adults and pediatrics with complex medical needs
People with Spina Bifida thru the lifespan
Limb, mobility and cognitive differences
Modifications and adaptations to allow life to be meaningful and indedpendent

Inclusive Dance Training

Ms. Katie is always learning! She learns the most from her students and their families. Other sources of formal instruction as an inclusive dance educator include:

Dance for Parkinson's Training in New York City
Dance Pathways by Sparks Dance Program, a DanceAbility focused course
StopGap Dance Company Seedbed - A Pathway to Teaching Inclusivity
National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) Teaching Dance to Students with Disabilities
NDEO conference Summit for Dance and Disability

Bio

Katie Kirwan began her early training in Middletown, Ohio under Phyllis DeWeese and later studied under Raphael Grigorian in Corning, New York, Dayton Ballet, Pointe Park College, Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Chicago, and North Carolina Dance Theatre. At Indiana University, she earned her Bachelor of Science in ballet and arts management under the wonderful teaching of Violette Verdy, Jacques Cesbron and Leslie Peck. In North Carolina, she began teaching at DancePlace, the official school of North Carolina Dance Theatre. However, the highlight of her career was dancing with Ballet Magnificat! under Kathy Thibodeaux from 2001 – 2008 as a soloist company member. In the fall of 2008, she taught at Dance Center Prague, a conservatory in Prague, Czech Republic. After moving to Chicago she taught and worked full time for the Joffrey Ballet Academy from 2009 – 2015, including 5 years as Joffrey Ballet’s Children’s Cast Head Ballet Master for The Nutcracker.

Katie returned to graduate school in 2012 to earn her Masters in Occupational Therapy. She currently works with children and adults with complex medical needs, has specialized in Spina Bifida care through the lifespan and now is focused on neurological rehabilitation.

Bringing her background in OT and dance experience together, Ms. Katie has a passion to expand dance opportunities to all people of all backgrounds and abilities. She created a Parkinson’s Disease dance project in the Chicago area for several years. She currently teaches inclusive dance classes ranging ages 5 thru adults in both Anthem and Central Phoenix and assists dancers to integrate into mainstream dance classes.

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