Dance Center of Kirkwood website!

About the Dance Center of Kirkwood

Kathleen Massot

Kathy, owner of the Dance Center of Kirkwood, has an extensive background in performance and teaching. As a young girl, she performed in the children’s chorus of the St. Louis Municipal Opera. Kathy then performed with the St. Louis Civic Ballet for 9 years and was a guest artist at the International Festival of Youth Orchestration in Aberdeen, Scotland. She also performed at the Saddlers Wells Theatre in London, England. Kathy then attended the National Academy of Arts and danced professionally with The National Ballet of Illinois. After moving to New York City, Kathy danced with the Leon Felder Dance Company.

She performed with the Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians, and soon became their co-rehearsal director as well. While in Laura Dean’s company, Kathy taught at the University of Iowa and at the University of California.

In 1987, Kathy performed in the AIDS benefit at the Lincoln Center with Master of Ceremonies, Mikhail Baryshnikov. This benefit was organized by Jerome Robbins and Peter Martins. For three summers, she performed at the American Dance Festival at Duke University in North Carolina. Kathy performed throughout the United States in many theaters, including City Center, The Joyce Theatre, and The Lincoln Center. She also performed throughout Europe with a total of three extensive tours.

Kathy teaches ballet, pointe, tap, and jazz at the Dance Center of Kirkwood, and her dancers have won many awards in local competitions. She has also won Best Choreographer Awards. Her students were chosen to perform in Dance St. Louis Spring Festival at the Edison Theatre for three years. She has taken choreographic composition classes at Webster University. Kathy was also a docent for the Educational Impact program for Dance St. Louis.