We were lucky to catch up with Katie Padgett Brown recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Katie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I think some creatives have an “aha moment”, or grow up wanting to do “the thing”. I can’t say I actually ever experienced either of those. Growing up, I remember thinking about the question: What do you want to be when you grow up? Sometimes I said teacher. Other times I said maybe a doctor. For a while I think architecture was on my mind. But my interests were so varied and I always enjoyed learning and trying new things, so I never stuck with one for a long time.

When I went to college, my intent was to be one of the first dance majors to graduate from my school. The Dance Department Chair was excited to have me and really sold my parents and me on the idea of being one of the first dancers in the program. However, there were delays in the curriculum approval, and the dance major ultimately became a minor. I had already invested so much time and money into 2 years at school, that I actually pivoted to majoring in music, which was supposed to be my minor all along. I played the cello growing up and it was always something I was pretty good at. But I never enjoyed the practice side of playing. The process wasn’t really enjoyable for me, but I made it through with my BA in Music.

But dancing? And being around dance people? That was undoubtedly my jam.
When I graduated from college, I had signed a lease on an apartment with a friend from college, had a bit of savings and some support from my parents, but no job and no way to pay the bills. I picked up the newspaper to look at the classifieds, and there was a 3-line advertisement that said “Tap Teacher Needed. Call this #.” Surely it couldn’t be true!
I called, set up an interview, taught a demo class, and by the end of the week, I was offered 2 days of teaching with 10 classes of tap and jazz dance for youth dancers anywhere from 5 to 17 years old. Since then, I haven’t gone a single year without teaching dance. And any time I try to pare down my teaching hours, I end up missing it so much that I quickly add more opportunities to my schedule. It’s a blessing and a curse, if I’m being honest, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a dance educator and tap dancer, based in the Raleigh, NC area. I teach dance classes, choreograph for students of various ages, and am working on providing historical and cultural context while improving my own work through continued study in the realm of tap dance.

I started taking dance classes in Kindergarten, and haven’t looked back since. I took a year off in 3rd grade, having told my mom that ballet class made my arms hurt. But since that brief hiatus, dance has always been a part of my life.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Hire artists. Pay artists. Ask us for help with your businesses and projects. We think out of the box, and oftentimes this can result in ingenious ideas.
But we can’t do it for free. The time we spend reading, learning, exploring, and building new ideas isn’t just for fun. It’s how we do what we do and how we continue to challenge ourselves.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I think my biggest goals at this stage in the game are helping others learn more about tap dance, the art, and the history, but also helping my students understand that it’s important (and okay!) to ask the hard questions.
Much of the general public knows so little about tap dance. I want to continue to expand my reach with performance opportunities, jam sessions with musicians, and informational workshops.
On the teaching side of things, I LOVE when I can tell a student, “You know, I’m not really sure about that. Let’s find out together.” It gives them a chance to see that none of us are the be-all-end-all of knowledge, and that there is no finish line. We are all still learning and that is how, as artists and curious creators, we can help each other thrive.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: dancekatienc

Image Credits

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