Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Staff Spotlight: Katherine (Kat) Kinnunen

Greetings All! I'm honored to be the one to write the first FDB blog entry!! As one of Forever Dancing's recent additions, I would like to share my dance story with those who may not be familiar with it:


As a child I always loved the arts. I have fond memories of spending summers at theater camp, acting in school plays, and playing the flute. However, for one play I was asked to do a waltz and since no one knew how to do it, we faked our way through it. From that moment on I was determined to redeem myself. I started dancing with a local jazz team and later tried cheerleading, but I knew that I really wanted to pursue partner dancing. Fortunately some of my fellow drama club members had taken up swing dancing so I found a partner and started burning the floor at various ballrooms in the Detroit area. When that fizzled out due to all of us applying to college, I traded the physical extra-curricular activities for the debate team and lost the desire to pursue dance because I was traveling to tournaments every week.


A few years later, after I transferred to George Mason University where I would complete my BS in Health Systems Management (read: not dance), I decided to try one more time to fit dance into my life, so I rearranged my schedule to accommodate a modern dance class. I enjoyed it so much that I continued taking dance classes until I graduated. College was also where I met the love of my life, Nate Bond, who was a dance major. I remember vocalizing to my mother that I wanted to meet a guy who could dance-- I guess my prayers were answered! He got me my first dance studio job where I received training from major ballroom icons including Frank Regan and Bill Davies. With my training I have collected great knowledge about dance, and have been empowered to convey that information through teaching and dancing socially.


I joined the FDB team at the beginning of May and have been teaching wedding dance lessons for couples and parents, as well as manning the front desk. I love teaching couples and great dancers-to-be because it is interesting to see how they interact on the dance floor-- it is often an accurate reflection of how they interact in life! I believe that having a strong foundation of basics is key to personal growth both on and off the dance floor. I am very excited to see where my dance journey will take me. Regardless, whether teaching or dancing socially, you will find me on the dance floor!


~ Kat