Katerina Thompson

Katerina Thompson was born and raised in Rome, NY. She started dance lessons in jazz, hip-hop, and acro with a local studio at the young age of 6. While her love for dance and performance was growing, Katerina began her ballet journey with Steve and Canan at John Hayes O’Neill Studio of dance. Shortly after joining the Jackson family and absorbing their ways of life, it was apparent that ballet would be a part of her life forever.

Not only was this the beginning of her dance career, but an everlasting relationship with John Hayes O’Neill and the Rome Capitol Theatre; both staples of Rome’s arts community.

While training year round from ages 10-18 with John Haye’s O’Neill, Katerina was determined to expand her dance knowledge. With encouragement and accompaniment of her mentors, Katerina attended pre-professional dance intensives and workshops every summer until high school graduation. Katerina was accepted to train with companies including Joffrey Ballet in NYC (2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017), American Ballet Theatre in NYC (2014), and American Ballet Theatre with UNCSA (2015).

“I was overwhelmed with excitement and inspiration … absorbing in-person ballet tips from ABT legends like Julie Kent and Isabella Boylston while performing amongst future stars, my dance vision for the future only grew.”

These pre-professional intensives offered pin-point insight and training on varying ballet techniques, pointe work, partnering, varying modern techniques, jazz, dance/ballet history, character dance, nutritional care, pilates, yoga, classic repertoire and more. Katerina has starred in the roles of Clara, The Sugar Plum Fairy, Dew Drop, Dream Queen, and various country leads in The Nutcracker, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, and a step-sister in Cinderella— all productions of John Hayes O’Neill.

After receiving her high school degree at Rome Free Academy, Katerina went on to pursue her bachelor in fine arts and dance performance at SUNY Purchase. Here is where she intimately trained under dance legends Ted Kivit, Bettijane Sills, Stephanie Tooman, Larry Clark, and current Christian Tworzyyanski. Daily classes included modern techniques Graham and Cunningham, along with the ballet techniques of Balanchine and ABT standards. She was also accepted into the Purchase dance company performance, training and performing original repertoire under Norbert De La Cruz.

In her sophomore year, Katerina was hand chosen amongst her peers to work towards a ballet-concentrated degree. In the fall of 2019, she returned home on medical leave to focus on recovering a dance-related injury. Once Covid hit the masses, her plans to return have only been delayed. In the mean time, she found opportunities to teach ballet in the small town of Southport, NC. At Seaside Dance, Katerina produced weekly ballet and pointe classes with an end-of-the-year performance to all ages, ranging from 6-60 years old.

Katerina recognizes just how important the arts are to a successful, growing community. “Dancing is a way of breathing for me… not only does it provide insightful revelations of the meaning of life, but also introduces practical habits like structure, confidence, determination, pattern recognition, and respect for elders and traditional practices.