Seeking the Creative: Katrina (Kat) Manansala, Dancer

Katrina Manansala. CREDIT: Nir Arieli

How would you describe your art in three words?

Technical, intentional, carried.

I’m not sure if it needs elaboration, but I know I have a very linear and technically oriented mind. I like things to logically make sense so I can deconstruct it later. That being said, I feel like the movement I perform must always come from within and have some kind of reason for execution in order for it to fully express itself. Finally, I often get my motivation from music and feelings, and I allow those things to guide my movement, which in turn makes it feel and look carried.

Katrina Manansala. Choreographer: Amaya Braganza. Song: Paula Abdul, Cold Hearted

Katrina Manansala. Choreographer: Yancy Greene. Song: Floetry, I Want You

Originally from Rochester, Minnesota, Katrina Manansala “started dancing at about two”, when her parents actively enrolled her in local and community studios. Katrina had experience in codified ballet, figure skating, and ice dancing from a young age before joining her studio’s pre-professional dance program. There, she trained in “ballet, Graham-based modern, lyrical, and jazz”. Since spring 2016, she” quit skating and [has] been focused on dance ever since”. Katrina’s decision to focus on dance came from the understanding that “dance is as much a part of [her] life as breathing, eating, and sleeping”. Balancing time between being a dancer and a Fordham College Lincoln Center student is challenging, but Katrina works on her craft with dedication and passion. She takes “regular classes five days a week with an average of three movement classes and one academic class a day”, which does not involve “cross-training or stretching, rehearsing for yearly school concerts, creating pieces, or researching and discussing movement and histories with friends” for further intellectual inspiration and growth. This dedication speaks to her as an individual. Dance manifests her evolution as a person and artist; it is her “chosen path of self-discovery, strength, and improvement”.

Katrina Manansala Improv. Choreographer: Katrina Manansala. Song: Samm Henshaw, Night Calls

Katrina Manansala Improv. Choreographer: Katrina Manansala. Song: Thirdstory, Still In Love (feat. Eryn Allen Kane)

With Katrina’s continuous growth, she’s learning that “there is no one true and universal definition of success”. This insight came from the pandemic, where many artists “had to shift priorities” and “adapt to this new world of video auditions…and closed or limited-access doors”. Katrina understands that dreams and paths can change due to external or internal factors. Before the pandemic, Katrina had plans to graduate as a “Dance and Kinesiology double major, then being on Broadway or joining a touring theater production”, but she discovered that “auditioning and rehearsing increases [her] risk of anxiety attacks and affects [her] ability to function”. So, her focus right now is creating an impact in her communities, which “is better done in classrooms and spaces of personal interaction”. Dance often bridges communities, and Katrina sees dance as a path to learn more about the various communities worldwide. She is working on a Master’s in Ethics and Society at Fordham’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. With this, she plans to “research the traditional dances of Southeast Asian countries and Indigenous North American groups as they are practiced in their native spaces, the diaspora of these dances, and the impacts they have had on the communities they settle in”. After completing this track, she has her sights on eventually getting a Ph.D. in arts and culture, where she either wants to “become a lecturer for university students or work in institutional settings on curriculum development or HR practices”. Though she fully understands the unpredictability of life, she ultimately wants dance to become the vessel for emotional and spiritual fulfillment as she travels and bridges communities around the world.

While Katrina still desires “to perform, to play a character and feel the energy from both the cast and the audience”, she acknowledges that her path is not limited to one definition of success. Instead, she wants to “be part of dance beyond the concert stage”. Inspired by Mr. Alvin Ailey’s words: “Dance is for everybody. I believe that dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people”, she hopes that “dance takes [her] around the world to share that legacy, to learn dance traditions from other cultures, and in turn share those traditions with future generations of aspiring dancers and artists”. Nowadays, Katrina hopes to become an inspiration for “other AAPI artists” and convey her love “for movement and storytelling”. For Katrina, impacting her community is the ultimate indicator of fulfillment and success. Katrina and her artistry can be found more on social media: her Instagram account @kn.manansala03, her Facebook, Katrina Nacionales-Manansala, and TikTok @katmanansalsa.

Where/how do you gather inspiration?

In terms of movement, I get most of my inspiration and steps from Ballet, Graham, and Horton techniques since that’s what I am trained in. A specific piece that inspires me is Alvin Ailey’s Revelations, not just through the dancing but through the music and the soulful and celebratory feelings it evokes. I also garner a bit from animation and liquid dance (styles of hip-hop) and some from people-watching. I have always enjoyed hip-hop music and dance for the raw emotion and energy it takes to perform and that it evokes, and liquid and animation work really well with the contemporary concert movements I perform.

In terms of subject matter, I suppose its source really depends on the moment. I find that humanity is the best source of inspiration—much of my choreography comes from personal experiences and abstract feelings that I want to express but have no words to do so. It is extremely difficult for me to produce intentional movement without understanding where it’s coming from on an emotional level. For me, dance is a language that speaks not strictly to the intellect but directly to the soul and spirit. Words and symbols are given meanings depending on the culture they come from, but they don’t always translate exactly into other symbolic languages. The body, on the other hand, needs no translation.

Throughout the last four years since I came to New York, I have become more in touch with my Filipino heritage and now also draw inspiration from the culture and stories of my friends and family, both in movement and subject matter. I believe deeply that to know where one is going, one must know where they are from. Incorporating my culture into my work allows me to bridge generational and cultural gaps in the spaces I exist in, and knowing that I can and have touched people’s spirits encourages me to continue my craft and discover new ways to bring Filipino and Southeast Asian cultures into classrooms, studios, and stages.

What do you hope audiences retain from your work?

As an Asian-American born and raised in the Midwest, aspiring to dance and be an artist, it has always been my hope to be an inspiration and role model for other AAPIs in my community to challenge tradition, share my culture with others, and express humanity to and for those who might not be able to because they do not have access to certain spaces.

I hope that people allow themselves to begin feeling and expressing the vulnerability it takes to dance and that they become comfortable sharing that with loved ones and other members of their community. That the stories and emotions I express through movement touch and heal the heart and soul.