Today we’d like to introduce you to Cati Snarr.
Hi Cati, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
A Salt Lake City native, I began my formal ballet training with Ballet West studying under Willam F. Christensen, Denise Schultz, and Louis Godfrey. I attended and had scholarships to numerous summer intensive programs all over the country. At the age of 15, I performed Sleeping Beauty with Ballet West at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC and then continued dancing professionally with the company under Bruce Marks and John Hart CBE, later attending BYU and then pursuing a professional ballet and theatre career. I was able to tour nationally and internationally performing works in ballet, musical theatre, and teaching dance workshops. From 2008-2015 I held the position of Ballet West Children’s Ballet Master and as a Principal for the Ballet West Academy. in 2018, I went back to the University of Utah as a student to re-motivate myself as an artist, the experience fueled me with a passion to change the narrative of how ballet is perceived and trained. Dance must be as progressive as the times, with respect to history, in order to survive. After finishing at the U in 2020, I made the decision to open my own studio Utah Dance Institute to allow myself the freedom to create future dancers in a new way.
I am also an adjunct professor at the University of Utah (after teaching on the faculty for 9 years), a choreographer and producer for SLC 2002 Olympic Winter Opening and Closing Ceremonies, The NFL, choreographing 13 Super Bowl Half time shows, as well as, NHL, NCAA halftime entertainment. I have been a director for various awards shows, have received an Emmy Award for choreographic achievements, and several nominations, and most recently worked on Adele “One Night Only” and Disney’s Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast LIVE.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
My journey has taken me everywhere that I never planned!
I never really planned to keep dancing into my adult years. It was a love/hate relationship. I love training, learning and perfectionism but did not love the negative mind games I spent my childhood playing.
When I left my ballet career, I wanted to quit forever but I also wanted to love the art form again. I had to be open-minded about the paths I would end up taking in order to keep progressing as a dancer and artist.
My passion was ballet but I felt a little personal betrayal when I embraced other styles of dance. Those styles taught me how to love dancing again and my attention to detail that ballet taught me kept me learning and achieving. It is possible to have a blend of gorgeous dancers and gorgeous people, it just takes care and time.
The biggest obstacle is to balance keeping dancers excited about training, happy with themselves, while still keeping them disciplined within an ever changing trade.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Utah Dance Institute is a new ballet school in Midvale, UT, central in the Salt Lake Valley. There are not very many ballet schools in this location. I created this studio in 2020 during the pandemic as another choice so many dance students we seeking.
At UDI, we believe that students are often given two choices for ballet training: broad-based schools which may move too quickly without providing students with the necessary technical foundation to move forward successfully OR traditional ballet schools which provide technique in a heavy-handed, rigid and competitive manner. (this is the way I was trained and have so many emotional and physical scars from it.) Neither approach does a great job of addressing both the physical and mental growth of students or the longevity of the whole dancer.
We Strive To give students unmatched training in an inclusive, supportive and kind environment with high but realistic expectations for each individual. By offering a clear curriculum, we take the guesswork out of learning and progressing. With a solid foundation, students advance safely and with confidence. We focus on giving both clear corrections and generous praise and encouragement regardless of level. Lastly, we promise to be accessible while promoting honesty and transparency with our students, parents, and faculty.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I am patient and kind. I have spent my career knowing how vast and small the dance world is. Almost every job I have ever gotten was from a friend/colleague recommendation never a resumé…. I am not sure I have ever used mine and feel very fortunate!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.utahdanceinstitute.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/utahdanceinstitute/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UtahDanceInstitute/
Image Credits
Head shot – Adilfa Ford
