Feel the Beat Team Member Spotlight: Kristen Krak
For our fourth Team Member Spotlight in our series featuring our amazing staff and dance instructors at Feel the Beat, we are featuring one of our newest dance instructors, Kristen Krak. Kristen's parents decided to put her in ballet at the age of 4, and she realized quickly just how much she loved performing. She studied at a ballet and modern focused academy for 9 years in Ohio, and then transitioned her focus to theater. She fell in love with dance again in college where she studied modern and contemporary, and then went on to pursue a career as an actor and musician in New York City. There she continued her dance education, incorporating musical theater.
Tell us about your role at Feel the Beat. How long have you been at Feel the Beat and what drew you to the organization?
This summer I volunteered with Feel the Beat in their creative movement class, and I am thrilled to start teaching that class this fall! I happened to meet Stef Tate who works with the company at a social event, and when she told me about Feel the Beat I knew instantly that I had to connect with its community. I spent a decade in the theater/dance/music performance world in NYC, while simultaneously working with kids in accessible spaces, and have been studying ASL for the last 3 years. Meeting Stef was meant to be!
Is there a person in your life you credit as being a key to what motivates or inspires you on a daily basis? How have they impacted your life both personally and professionally?
I will forever be thankful for my high school theater teacher, Mrs. Sharp. When I was contemplating moving to New York to pursue a career as an actor, she said something along the lines of "You'll never fail if you try, and you'll never regret trying." Life is full of new opportunities and it can be scary to try new things, but I always find that I feel so proud of myself for trying something new.
My parents are firm believers in the arts. They introduced me to music and dance at a very young age, and it has been the strongest pillar in my life ever since. Pursuing a career in the arts is no joke, but my parents understood its importance on a personal level and on a grander scale - the arts are what make life shine.
Tell us about a recent experience you’ve had in your role at Feel the Beat – something funny, inspiring, challenging, etc.
One thing I love about class is how it offers representation of so many abilities and bodies. It can be confusing for a kid to try to understand why someone moves or behaves in a different way from them, but by the end of class they're all rooting for each other's successes big and small, and those differences fade away. Representation and accessibility make the world a more beautiful place.
Outside of dancing at Feel the Beat, what do you like to do for fun?
I love hiking (how very Colorado of me!), and my partner and I love both making and eating food. So much so that most of our free time is spent making and selling our very own food product, MisoHeat!