Katharine Frey

Katharine Frey’s early training began at Indiana University School of Music. She was awarded annual scholarships to the School of American Ballet (SAB) and spent a year training with the Royal Danish Ballet.

She began her professional career at the age of seventeen, joining the Atlanta Ballet, followed by Madison Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Metropolitan, and Arizona Dance Theatre. She was a founding member of Ballet Arizona. She performed corps de ballet, soloist, and principal roles in classical and contemporary ballets. At age twenty-seven, she began assisting Ballet Arizona director/choreographer Jean Paul Comelin in staging his works. At age thirty-five, she took on full responsibilities of ballet mistress, repetiteur, and rehearsal director of Ballet Arizona where she worked for sixteen years.

Katharine has instructed ballet and pointe technique for over forty-six years. She has assisted many notables (Violette Verdy, Frederic Franklin, Gary Masters, Patricia Neary) in staging numerous ballets (Swan Lake, Giselle, Cinderella, Coppelia) and has been exposed to and influenced by various styles of dance (Petipa, Balanchine, Limon, Taylor).