Katina Kumar was born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania, where she began her training with Berks Ballet Theatre. She remained a company performer with them through her senior year in high school, receiving lead roles in the conservatory’s classical and contemporary performances; and, she was awarded scholarships of excellence in contemporary and classical performance at Regional Dance America.
After graduating Valedictorian of her high school class, Katina went on to receive her B.F.A. in Dance Performance from Adelphi University in New York. At Adelphi, Katina trained closely under Frank Augustyn in classical ballet and many styles of modern. Katina was privileged to perform in a variety of repertoire including, solos from La Esmeralda, Napoli, and Don Quixote, Martha Graham repertoire, original choreography of Adelheid B. Strelick, William Briscoe, and many more! Throughout her collegiate years, Katina danced professionally with companies such as Eglevsky Ballet and was a principal guest artist with American Theater Dance Workshop and Glen Cove Ballet.
In 2017, upon graduating summa cum laude, Katina became a founding company artist with Magnum Opus located in Madison, Wisconsin. While dancing with the company, Katina trained to become a licensed Progressing Ballet Technique instructor and in the Leap ‘n’ Learn curriculum. During Summer 2018, she became certified in Adaptive Dance through Boston Ballet. As a teacher of over 11 years and having experience working with the special needs, elderly and infirmed, as well as underprivileged communities, Katina’s priority is to inspire and encourage each and every one of her students.
Katina was named Director of Ballet at HappyFeet Dance School and Performance located in Plano, Texas, where she teaches ballet, pointe, variations, lyrical, contemporary, and more to students of all ages from toddler through adult. Katina has choreographed and directed several full length ballets with HappyFeet, including her premieres of Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz. She also does private coaching and choreography along with yoga, barre, and Pilates. While in Texas, Katina has had the wonderful opportunity to guest as a soloist with HappyFeet Dance School, Festival Ballet of North Texas, and Toby’s School of Dance. Formerly, she was a founding company member of Ballet North Texas and a company member with imPULSE dance project, 6 O’Clock Dance Theatre, and performed as a professional artist with Zion Dance Project: Summer and Winter Series. In 2024, Katina received the esteemed Director of Ballet Company position at McKinney Dance Studio.
Katina Kumar is humbled to be founder, owner, Artistic Director, Co-Executive Director as well as company dancer of Ballet Papillon based out of DFW Texas. By beginning her own nonprofit professional ballet company, Katina is able to share her passion for the art of movement, the beauty of expression, and the gift of community and compassion with her dancers, staff, and audience members alike!