The Music Next Door

To accurately portray my excitement for being accepted into BodyVox I would have to use a minimum of fifteen exclamation points! And I would have to confess that the excited energy inside me spontaneously forces its way out in the form of spazzy, uncontrollable, 5 second dances around my house, in elevators, at restaurants, you name it. Moving to the artistic and eclectic city of Portland, landing a teaching job with my new best friend and dance partner Josh Murry, and starting rehearsals with this incredible company right out of college is so much to be thankful for!

My name is Katelyn Staszkow (but I go by Katie) and I grew up in Chandler, Arizona. From the time I put on my first pair of ballet shoes when I was three years old, I knew that I wanted to dance forever. After high school, I received a full academic scholarship to the University of Utah where I chose to major in classical ballet – the U is one of the only public universities in the world that offers a BFA in ballet, not just dance. This school was the perfect fit for me; I took ballet classes and rehearsed repertoire ranging from somber Giselle to sensual Scheherazade from at least 9:00am to 4:00pm every day and also pursued my love for science and academia at the same time. I also always make time to read, explore new coffee shops, and I love animals!

Yet, you will not find me on stage in BodyVox’s current show Horizontal Leanings. As we ran through “The Bunny” in BodyVox-2 rehearsal on just the third day of the season (and just two weeks after I moved to this new city!), I tore my medial meniscus. Major bummer! Fortunately, surgery has me all repaired and on the mend, and I will be dancing again on December 1st! Until then, you will find me working at BodyVox’s front desk in the mornings while the company rehearses, keeping a smile on my face even though hearing the music next door makes me very sad. Injuries are very much a part of a dancer’s life and I know that I will make an impressive recovery. And even though this is a challenging start to my career, it is just a blip and I will be even stronger and more determined when I come back. I am enormously thankful to everyone in this company and to my family for being so understanding and supportive through this - Jonathan and Josh drive me around every day and the whole company really helps me feel like I belong even though I am not dancing. My dad always knows the best inspirational quotes, and when I found out I would be needing surgery, he told me “It is what it is, but it will be what you make it.” Look out BodyVox! I may be peg-legging around like a pirate right now, but I will be bending my knee and walking again before you know it; and I am not stopping there!

photo by: Christopher Peddecord