Kathi Martuza is an American professional

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

who currently performs as a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...

with the

Oregon Ballet Theatre Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT) is a ballet company in Portland, Oregon, United States. The company performs an annual five-program season at the Portland Center for the Performing Arts and conducts regional and national tours. It was featured in th ...

. She previously danced with the

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Franc ...

for six years and is also known as Kathleen Martuza.

Early life and education

Born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Martuza started her ballet training at the age of 12 at the Lexington School of Ballet in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. After moving to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

with her family, she continued with Maryland Youth Ballet in Bethesda. She spent two summers with the Houston Ballet Academy and one summer at the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

School. While a senior in high school, she took a master class with Betsy Erickson of the San Francisco Ballet and turned down an apprenticeship with the company in order to complete high school in Maryland.

Career

Martuza joined the

at the age of 17 in 1997. She was a member of SFB's

corps de ballet In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French for "body of the ballet") is the group of dancers who are not principal dancers or soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. ...

(as Kathleen Martuza) until 2003. Martuza joined Oregon Ballet Theatre in 2003 and was ranked

in 2007, the year when OBT ranked its dancers for the first time. She has had roles created for her by choreographers such as Mark Morris,

James Kudelka James Kudelka, OC (born September 10, 1955 at Newmarket, Ontario), is a Canadian choreographer, dancer, and director. He was the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada from 1996 to 2005, now serving as the National Ballet's artist in ...

, Christopher Stowell, Julia Adam, and

Yuri Possokhov Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Jap ...

. In 2005, Martuza was named one of "25 to Watch" by ''

Dance Magazine ''Dance Magazine'' is an American trade publication for dance published by the Macfadden Communications Group. It was first published in June 1927 as ''The American Dancer''. ''Dance Magazine'' has multiple sister publications, including ''Pointe' ...

''. She was also featured on the cover October/November 2007 issue of ''

Pointe Pointe technique ( ) is the part of classical ballet technique that concerns ''pointe work'', in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes. A dancer is said to be ''en pointe'' () when ...

'' magazine. Martuza started teaching ballet at

Da Vinci Arts Middle School da Vinci Arts Middle School, also known as da Vinci Middle School, is a public middle school in the Kerns neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, in the United States. It is an arts focus school in the Portland Public School District. The building was o ...

in Portland, Oregon, in September 2013, and is currently teaching there now.

Personal life

In June 2003, Martuza married Kester Cotton, whom she met while both were dancing with the San Francisco Ballet. Her husband, who also danced with OBT from 2003 through 2006, is now a

Doctor of Physical Therapy A Doctor of Physical Therapy or Doctor of Physiotherapy (DPT) degree is a qualifying degree in physical therapy. In the United States, it is considered a graduate-level first professional degree or doctorate degree for professional practice. In the ...

and a consulting staff member at The School of Oregon Ballet Theatre. Martuza and Cotton have a son, Roy, born October 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martuza, Kathi American ballerinas Oregon Ballet Theatre San Francisco Ballet dancers Artists from Boston Living people 1970s births