Miss Katy Geertsen BA(hons) (Post-Grad.), BA(hons) Dance Theatre, RAD (Intermediate), PBT
Katy Geertsen, born in the Netherlands, discovered her love of dance at a young age.
While training at the Amsterdam School of the Arts, Miss Katy explored the world of contemporary dance.
She continued dancing with influential dance teachers in New York City, Vienna and London where she graduated in 2011 with a first class BA (Honours) degree from Trinity Laban – Conservatoire of Music and Dance.
During this time, Miss Katy performed works choreographed by Marina Collard, Frauke Requardt, Lea Anderson and Kerry Nicholls and was part of the 2010 reconstruction of Merce Cunningham’s ‘Scramble’.
In 2011 Katy danced with the Léna Dance Company and in 2012 she joined FloJo Dance and performed in Resolutions at The Place in London.
As a dance artist Katy also enjoys exploring aspects of what dance and the arts can mean to individuals and their communities around the world. She has developed her teaching skills within several companies and arts organisations including Dance Ability (UK/Austria), Rosetta Life, Lifedance (UK), Broadway Dance Academy (Austria), Vienna International School (Austria) and Artists Striving to End Poverty (USA/India).
She then expanded her horizons at the post-graduate LINK Dance Company of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth, Australia.
Her contemporary dance studies led her to concentrate on her belief that dance can provide every individual with a means of expression, communication and with a pathway towards a healthier life. With this in mind, Katy completed the Mark Morris Dance Group – Dance for PD® Teacher Training course and from May 2015 had the privilege of teaching Dance for Parkinson’s classes in Perth and its surrounding suburbs.
Katy worked as the professional dance artist of the adult dance company ‘Tracksuit’ – a company for those who identify with having a disability or suffer from social exclusion.
In 2018 Katy returned to Vienna and has continued sharing her passion of dance and all of its benefits with young and old. She is an integral part of the growing ‘Arts for Health’ community in Austria and was appointed as the rehearsal director with ‘Momentum’ – a dance company for the mature dancer (50+) in January 2018.
Katy continues to work as a passionate dance teacher within two different dance schools teaching preschool creative dance, ballet and contemporary dance classes to children aged 2 – 18 years old.
She is excited to be teaching at the English Dance Academy Wien, where her creative and technical talents fit perfectly with the school’s ethos of providing imaginative and inspiring dance classes that develop not only technique in dance but important skills for life.
Professional Qualifications and Training:
2013: BA(hons, Post-Graduate) in Dance Performance, Western Australian Academy of Performing ARTS
2011: BA(hons) Dance Theatre, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London
2018: Dance for elderly with special needs teacher training, Switch2Move, the Netherlands
2018: Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) Teacher Training, Marie Walton-Mahon
2018: Children’s Yoga Teacher Certification, Kidding Around Yoga
2017/18: Elemental Body Alignment System (EBAS)
2017: Intermediate Ballet (Distinction), Royal Academy of Dance (RAD)
2016: Dance for PD Advanced training and Professional development, Dance for Parkinsons Australia
2015: Garuda seated and standing mat work teacher training course, Perth Garuda and Pilates Movement
2015: Dance for PD Introductory teacher training, Dance for Parkinsons Australia
Other Qualifications and Certificates
Strafregisterbescheinigung (Austria)
Qualified Child Carer Certification (2019)
First Aid (2019)
Public Liability Insurance