about katarina (she/her/hers)

Hello and welcome to my little corner of the internet. Since you’re here let’s clear one thing up–my full name is Katarina, but you can call me Kat, pronounced like “kAHt”. I hope I’ve “kAHt” your attention now. 

I wear many hats, but the ones I enjoy the most are dance/movement therapist, photographer, and writer. Movement is my love language, and the lens through which I see the world. I believe our bodies are our richest repositories of knowledge–they are living, breathing archives of our thoughts, experiences, and collective unconscious.

My work is unified around reclaiming, mending, and transforming stories–from the stories we cast ourselves into, to the stories we inherit, and the stories we inhabit with our bodies. My hope is that my work as a dance/movement therapist, photographer, and writer supports people in feeling more understood, achieving greater self awareness, and becoming more confident in their skin.

I am fueled by a desire to leave this wide and wild universe a little bit brighter than when I entered it. 

Dance Therapy
My identity is grounded in my lifelong practice as a dancer. I received my BFA in Dance + BS in Psychology from Florida State University, and earned a masters degree in Dance/Movement Therapy from Pratt Institute. I am registered as a Dance/Movement Psychotherapist (R-DMT) through the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA) and hold a Creative Arts Therapist license (LCAT) in New York State.

As a dance therapist, I offer my clients a compassionate, validating, culturally responsive, anti-oppressive space where they can explore their inner worlds via embodied creative movement with curiosity and collaboration. I strongly believe that an embodied, holistic approach to mental health is the most authentic path to healing in a world where disconnection from our bodies is the norm.

Prior to pursuing my graduate studies, I have worked for New York City Ballet, The George Balanchine Trust, The New York Choreographic Institute, Brooklyn Ballet, and CONTINUUM Contemporary Ballet. 

Photography
I approach each photo I take as a memento of an ephemeral moment in time. I specialize in lifestyle photography–from portraits to weddings to graduations and everything in between. I love getting to know my clients before stepping behind the camera and glimpsing through a window into their inner worlds. For me, photography is about capturing the feeling and essence of a moment, not poses.

Writing
Words have always fascinated me. Among my favorites is saudade–an elusive yet poignant Portuguese term signifying the presence of absence–or in the words of writer Francisco Manuel de Mello ”a pleasure you suffer, and an ailment you enjoy.” In my writing I enjoy exploring the dichotomies and complexities of the human experience.

You can find my writing on Discount Dance’s blog Dance Life or my recently published masters thesis “Reckoning with Whiteness: An Embodied Approach to Exploring Racial Identity Development & Healing for White Identifying Dance/Movement Therapy Students” on the ProQuest database.

For professional inquires, friendly hellos, and random questions drop me a line at katarina@hellokby.co. Talk to you soon.