K A T H E R I N E W I L L I A M S
American Ballet Theatre
P R E S S
Review by Jerry Hochman
July 6, 2013
... her crystalline execution and focus have been a consistent hallmark of her performances throughout. Even doing non-featured roles in the corps, she’s obviously engaged and involved not just in the steps she’s supposed to do, but in the character she’s supposed to be... But where other corps dancers competently but dutifully go through the usual acting motions, Ms. Williams appears to live them... She seems to ‘feel’ more strongly than others, and this feeling is transmitted directly to the audience as real, rather than feigned concern.
Dance Magazine's 25 to Watch
March 15, 2013
...one face among them glowed with unforced sweetness. No matter how familiar the ballet, corps member Katherine Williams approaches each role as though the steps were new and the moment real... Williams’ classical foundation has given her the stamina to handle the company’s most traditional ballets with aplomb. Her favorite role to date has been as one of the tall girls in La Bayadère’s pas d’action—“It’s 15 minutes straight of jumping; you’re completely exposed”—though she also loves Ratmansky’s The Bright Stream. “His movement opens you up,” she says. “You think more about how steps meld together.”
Watch her be dragged into the mysterious workshop of Dr. Coppelius, her limbs trembling with fear. Or melt into the lilting strains of Delibes’ charming score, a pretty girl in a village square, somewhere in a Bohemian never-neverland. It’s wholehearted dancing that makes Williams stand out.
From JKO to ABT: Katherine Williams
May 2012
There’s something soothing about watching Katherine Williams dance. You sense her sweetness and her ear for music. And even when she’s working hard, she looks like she truly loves every moment onstage... In January 2007, Williams joined the second company; less than a year later she entered the main company. She remembers being nervous at every rehearsal that first year: “Everything felt so important, even if it was just a character part in Swan Lake where all you do is stand on the side.” She soon learned that there are times when she needs not to push so hard. Although she hasn’t had major injuries, Williams isn’t taking any chances. She regularly practices stability exercises to keep her calves and hamstrings strong. “Ultimately, you simply can’t be successful unless you’re healthy,” she says. “To be a professional, you have to be smart, you have to take care of your body.”
Ballerina Katie Williams Takes Talent to New Heights
Jan 18, 2012
Whatever that unique quality is that makes one performer stand out above the others, "Katie," as she likes to be called, has it, and has made audiences sit back and pay attention throughout her local dance career... Watching Katie in a recent performance, it was easy to see why the judges chose her. Tall, lithe and extremely poised, she is deliberate in every move she makes... Her arms gracefully lifted above her head, she takes off in a grand jete and seemingly sits in the air before landing softly and quietly. Her gift is her gracious presence — she never seems to sweat or lose her patience. Baltimore Ballet director Cem Catbas first saw Williams dance at a Youth American Grand Prix competition when she was around 13 years old and was impressed with her talent. "Not only does Katie possess angelic looks, impeccable technique, and a beautiful lyrical quality to her dancing, she is also a lovely, collegial person and good friend."
Dance Stars Turn Out For Ballet Gala
Feb 4, 2010
The Howard County ballerina joined ABT last year and instantly became one of the most sought-after guest artists in our area. In November, she performed at the Ballet Royale benefit in Columbia; the following month, she danced the role of Snow Queen in the Baltimore Ballet's "Nutcracker." "Katie is a favorite guest artist," agrees Elizabeth Hallgren, one of eight chosen Baltimore Ballet students dancing in the program. "I love watching her perform." Classical ballet excerpts planned for the Lyric... "Don Quixote,"" one of those fiery dances that Williams does so well...
Delicate Dynamism
Jul, 2009
Williams’ long line, liquid-smooth control and elegant port de bras had helped her advance quickly from student at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School to ABT II member and, finally, into the company itself...Then came Paul Taylor’s Company B last fall. Williams discovered her sense of freedom as she jitterbugged out of the wings of New York City Center—and shocked everyone watching. “This little waif of a thing really slammed it right down to the ground!” says Patrick Corbin, a former Paul Taylor Dance Company member who staged the piece for ABT. “Younger dancers are usually afraid to take risks, but Katie took to it like a duck to water. She just dove into the jazzy idiom.”
Barely a year into her career with the company, 19-year-old Williams is quickly learning to use her rock-solid technical foundation to deliver daring, dynamic performances. Corbin says, “Your eyes go straight to her onstage"...Although she’s blessed with a body perfectly proportioned for ballet (long legs, a willowy silhouette), it’s Williams’ temperament that has been the not-so-secret ingredient of her success. “Katie is one of the most professional workers I’ve ever met by far,” says ABT ballet mistress Susan Jones. Along with being a quick learner, Jones says Williams also applies every personal and general correction, always working at her fullest. “What more could a ballet mistress ask!”
Given her magnetic presence and hunger to improve, it’s easy to predict that Williams has a promising future... [Jones says], “I see her improving with each season. Anything is possible when you have all the extraordinary talents that Katie has.”
ABT’s BFFs
Mar 1, 2011
“Katie really helped me get through Swan Lake,” Courtney says. “Standing on the sides is hard on your feet! But Katie knew what was coming. She stood in front of me and hummed to remind me to breathe, so I’d forget about the pain”... “Katie has the most amazing petit allégro,” April says. “I admire that, because it’s one of the harder things for me. She has such a natural spring—it looks like she’s on a trampoline!”...“We’re nothing but supportive,” April says. “Ballet can get in your head, so it’s nice to know that people have your back. We’re completely honest with each other.” That policy covers everything from telling each other when a leotard is unflattering to offering advice about personal issues. “We have an underlying trust,” April says. “If we talk to each other, it’s only between us.”
That trust is the cornerstone of what takes April, Courtney and Katie from being colleagues who hang out together to being true best friends. They have fun together, both at work and in their free time, but they also genuinely care about each other, and each girl wants her friends to succeed.
