Ballet with Katie Yan
Katie Yan is a passionate ballerina and OHSer. Contributor Geeta Shankar learns more about Katie in the interview below.
Pixel Journal: When did you start learning ballet?
Katie Yan: I took one ballet class at age 4 and decided I hated it! I actually started ballet up again, around age 9, because I was a figure skater and wanted to further develop my artistry.
PJ: When did you really start developing a passion for ballet?
KY: I stopped skating at the age of 13 in order to really peruse my passion for ballet. For me, ballet is the perfect balance of visceral physicality and artistic challenge. I think that skating is currently moving in a direction that favors jumps and technical tricks rather than artistry and expression.
PJ: Who is your role model, if any, in ballet?
KY: My ballet role models are Yuan Yuan Tan and Hee Seo. Yuan Yuan Tan was the first Chinese Prima Ballerina and Hee Seo was the first Korean Prima Ballerina. Hee Seo also started dancing later in life, age 12, than most dancers and therefore I feel some kinship – as I started dancing at the age of 9.
PJ: How often do you practice?
KY: I dance anywhere from 13 to 20 hours a week depending on rehearsals. On a typical week
without rehearsals I take class six days a week for about two to two and a half hours per day
and on weeks with rehearsals I can dance up to seven days a week.
PJ: What are some prestigious shows that you have performed in and great honors that you
have received?
KY: For the last two years I have been accepted into every Joffrey Ballet School summer intensive. I have also been invited into their year long NYC Trainee Program. I also received a scholarship to attend the Joffrey Texas Summer Intensive, but did not attend.
PJ: How has ballet changed your life?
KY: For me, ballet is the best way to express myself non-verbally. I don’t think I’m particularly good writer and you don’t want to hear me sing, so ballet is the best way to articulate my emotions. Without ballet I’d be pretty sentient and lacking in a way to challenge myself physically and emotionally.
PJ: How do you think ballet will play a role in the future for you(as you go to college)?
KY: I definitely want to continue ballet in college! I’m currently looking into several forms of
continuing ballet in college, through either a student run Ballet Company or even minoring in
dance.
PJ: Have you changed others' lives through ballet? (volunteering, charity, role model)
KY: For the last few summers I’ve volunteered at my studio’s children’s camp. Last year I did the
Don Quixote camp and this year I helped out with the Swan Lake camp. As I never got to do
these camps when I was younger it’s fun to see the kids try to learn choreography from these
famous ballets. I also enjoy choreographing; in our summer workshops students from the two
highest levels are split up into groups and each choreograph a dance. Choreography is
something I’ve loved to do, in skating I would often choreograph my own little programs, and
this love transfers over into ballet. I love watching the dancers I’m choreographing on take my
steps and make it their own. I also love to seem them grapple with difficult choreography and
figure it out, seeing them grow and develop as dancers is one of the most enjoyable
experiences!
