Strength, balance and flexibility characterize Katarina Danks’ January 2 T.G.I.M. performance
During the intermission of this month’s T.G.I.M. screenings, Cape Coral artist Katarina Danks astonished the FMff audience with a stunning dance routine that combined gymnastics and contortion.
Kat is a world-class performer trained in contortion, jazz and contemporary dance disciplines. She began her training at age seven and grew to the professional level during her high school 
years. Since turning professional, she has won numerous awards in various recreational and professional competitions for performance, technique, stage presence and choreography. She has performed for Showbiz Productions, National Geographic, Royal Hanneford Circus, International Contortion Convention, and Que Noche for Telemundo. Her trademark is the uniqueness and difficulty of her routines.
While Kat’s dance and contortion routines are usually highly choreographed, on January 2 she used the 
music and energy of the enthusiastic T.G.I.M. crowd to craft a performance characterized by strength, balance and extreme physical flexibility. One her most statuesque poses was a standing split in which she reached back and caressed her shin with both hands. A penultimate backbender, Kat provided several amazing head-seat variations, but perhaps her most physical demanding pose consisted of a one-arm handstand in which she held her body with legs fully extended in a plane horizontal to the floor. While genetics and Kat’s petit size may 
partially explain her spectacular flexibility, she clearly works hard at maintaining and expanding her skill set. On top of that, she possesses a distinctive theatrical flair that render her performances real crowd pleasers.
Katarina holds a B.S. in Marketing. She has been taught and mentored by Betsy Shuttlesworth of Dance Extensions Performing Arts Center in Pittsburgh, and while her Steelers will be vying for a trip to the Super Bowl in Sunday’s AFC 
Championship game in Foxboro, Kat will joining fellow dancers/instructors Sami Doherty, Ginger Lynn and Jara Lee Lorenzana to host the long-awaited and eagerly anticipated grand opening of Melody Lane Performing Arts Center in Cape Coral. The studio will specialize in dance, flexibility, musical theatre, voice, acting and more. Not surprisingly, Katarina will direct the Center’s contortion program, provide instruction in 
ballet, jazz and contemporary dance, and head the tumbling competition and show teams.
The grand opening open house is from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 21, and Sunday, January 22. Three demo classes are being taught each day:
- 12:00-12:45 Tap with Ginger
- 12:45-1:30 Hip Hop with Jara
- 1:30-2:15 Flexibility with Kat
Then, beginning at 2:30, the dancers will perform their 
competition and show troupe pieces.
For more information, please visit http://www.melodylanepac.com.
There’s just one T.G.I.M. left before the film festival. It takes place on Monday, February 6. John Biffar, Tracy Gray and Alex Johnson will serve as celebrity judges, and Goodbone will provide the musical entertainment. You can see what you’re missing! Don’t miss the season-ending T.G.I.M. Mark your 
calendar now!
January 17, 2017.
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About the Author
Tom Hall is both an amateur artist and aspiring novelist who writes art quest thrillers. He is in the final stages of completing his debut novel titled "Art Detective," a story that fictionalizes the discovery of the fabled billion-dollar Impressionist collection of Parisian art dealer Josse Bernheim-Jeune, thought by many to have perished during World War II when the collection's hiding place, Castle de Rastignac in southern France, was destroyed by the Wehrmacht in reprisal for attacks made by members of the Resistance operating in the area. A former tax attorney, Tom holds a bachelor's degree as well as both a juris doctorate and masters of laws in taxation from the University of Florida. Tom lives in Estero, Florida with his fiancee, Connie, and their four cats.