CATHERINE GARRATT FOTHERGILL

BIOGRAPHY

A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Catherine trained at the Alabama Dance Academy and Alabama Ballet Center for Dance before completing her studies at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet under Marcia Dale Weary. Catherine joined the Louisville Ballet, and thereafter, the Alabama Ballet, where she danced as a principal ballerina for over a decade. Catherine danced leading roles in all of the classicals and in works by Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Agnes De Mille, Frank Staff, Jirí Kylián, Twyla Tharp, Antony Tudor, and Roger Van Fleteren, while simultaneously earning degrees in sociology and international studies and graduating summa cum laude from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Upon giving her final performances with the Alabama Ballet, Catherine joined Ballet Arkansas as the Associate Artistic Director in the summer of 2017. 

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At Ballet Arkansas, Catherine is the chief caretaker of the organization's repertory, the curator of its education programs, and the architect of its marketing strategies. Since her appointment, Ballet Arkansas' repertory has diversified, its education program enrollment has tripled, and its bold marketing strategies have attributed to audience growth of more than 60%. In honor of these achievements, Arkansas Money & Politics Magazine named Catherine one of its Power Women, class of 2020. 

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In addition to her duties at Ballet Arkansas, Catherine travels frequently throughout the United States and abroad as a guest instructor, repetiteur and ballet mistress for ballet companies, semi-professional academies, and university dance programs. She has staged works for Japan Ballet Association's 37th annual Zendo Ballet Festival, Balleteatro Nacional de Puerto Rico, and Les Ballets de France. Catherine has served on the faculties of the Takako Classical Ballet, Chida Toshiko Ballet, and Hiroko Masuya Classic Ballet of Japan, and is a frequent guest instructor for the Cecchetti Council of America's International Summer School. While on faculty at the Alabama Ballet School, Catherine taught multiple levels of the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus and passed numerous students with distinction. Most recently, Catherine was named guest artist in residence at the University of Arkansas - Little Rock's Department of Theatre Arts and Dance.

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