Katie Pustizzi, a 2014 graduate of Salem State University, has spent her whole life as a deeply committed dance student and artist. Throughout her life she has studied many forms of dance and has performed in many professional productions in the Boston area and beyond. Before coming to SSU, she shared that she had minimal choreography experience, but always had an excitement and passion for creating and experimenting with art and movement.
Katie says that she knew that “dance has always been my path” and there was no doubt what she would major in when heading off to college. She always wanted to be a dance major. The flexibility of the dance major at SSU allowed Katie to pursue her passion for teaching and choreography even outside of campus. She started her own dance company while pursuing her bachelor’s degree and felt she was always well supported in her artistic endeavors by both teachers and her classmates. Through the Salem Dance Ensemble Katie found herself excited to have the opportunity to create and share her own choreographic work with the community and her peers on a frequent basis.
“I was grateful to be a part of the Salem Dance Ensemble. It was exciting to have the opportunity to create and share my own choreographic work. It was incredibly helpful to be "in-process" every semester. This had a major impact on the creation of my choreographic voice and artistic perspective.” Katie shared.
During her time studying and attending classes Katie found that her interest and love for improvisational movement developed. The dance improvisation classes had a significant impact on her, as they expanded and improved her understanding of what is possible. It allowed her to better understand the intuitive pathways of her own body and the depths and possibilities of her creative process. Professor Meghan McLyman's "The Dancing Body" course made an important impact on Katie as it jumpstarted her investigation into somatic practices.
After graduating from Salem State University Katie went on to complete her MFA in Choreography from Wilson College and continued to create work with Aurora Borealis Dance Company, an ensemble she founded and directed for 10 years. While completing her master’s degree she began to teach in the higher education system. Currently, she is a faculty member at Dean College, Emmanuel College, and Endicott College. She has also had the honor of guesting at a variety of institutions all around the country.
Today Katie has been busy creating work, performing, and continuing to study on her own after graduating. Currently, she is creating work through her latest project called "Liquid Spine." Liquid Spine is a global dance series that unearths the environmental needs of water systems through movement, community, and conversation. Along with her work as a faculty member, choreographer, and artist, her passion for dance has led her to adventures around the world. She has gotten to travel to Israel and Italy to create work, perform, and study with a variety of companies. Most recently, she created a Liquid Spine dance film in Augusta, Sicily. The film seeks to illuminate the environmental and public health impacts of seaside industrialization.
Looking back at her time at Salem State Katie shared that she wishes she had come into college with more of an open mind. After studying dance for 15 years before starting at the university, she believed she had all the answers already but in time found herself becoming more open to change and differing perspectives. Today she has come to recognize there is always something new to learn in every situation. As an accomplished alumnus, Katie hopes that future Salem State University students remain steadfast in their own educational paths and hopes to remind students that everyone’s journey is supposed to look a bit different and that is okay. It can be exciting and beneficial to make new, and undiscovered choices in their life, career, and education.
In the future Katie is hoping to continue to create work that explores social inquiry and enables her to collaborate and connect with new people and places as an artist. Now as a passionate educator, she is constantly striving to find opportunities to connect with a variety of students and communities and hopes to continue this moving forward. That passion for teaching is why she hopes to one day be a full-time professor at a university and help the next generation of students develop their passion for the arts.