ĢĒŠÄTV

Building a foundation in dance, English and communication

In her hometown of Dunn Loring, Virginia, Catja grew up immersed in the performing arts: Her father is a musician, she and her brother are dancers, her sisters make music and her mother sings. But she didnā€™t know just how far her love of dance could take her until she got to ĢĒŠÄTV, where she double majored in dance and English and was a scholar in the Media, Rhetoric and Communication Pathway through the Collegeā€™s ĢĒŠÄTVections program. 

ā€œThe Dance Department helped me dream outside of the box and be creative with my career path,ā€ she says.

Catja spent her four years at ĢĒŠÄTV studying communication across disciplinesā€”from dance performance to nonfiction writing. She served as co-editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The College Voice, and was a four-year member of the Dance Club. She completed three internships during her collegiate careerā€”as a media intern with Final Bow for Yellowface, an arts activism organization working to eliminate the use of offensive stereotypes from the stage; as a journalism intern with The Oslo Desk, a publication that serves marginalized and underrepresented people in Norwegian media; and as an editorial intern for Pointe Magazine, a leading international dance publication.

Study abroad to Fulbright and graduate studies in London

As a junior, she studied abroad at and ā€œfell in love with the city.ā€

ā€œI had a gut feeling that I needed to return one day. I knew I had so much more to explore in the rich arts and multicultural environment,ā€ she says.

As a senior, Catja completed a dance honors thesis in costume design and construction. And then, with support from her professors and ĢĒŠÄTVā€™s fellowships advising staff, she took a leap and applied forā€”and was grantedā€”a Fulbright Research Award to pursue a masterā€™s degree in dance choreography performance at the in London, one of the leading institutions for graduate studies in dance.

ā€œBefore I studied abroad in London, I never wouldā€™ve thought Iā€™d move away from the U.S. But being in the Dance Department with a community of people who think outside the box encouraged me to ask myself, ā€˜What if I just go down this path and see what happens?ā€™ā€ she says. ā€œThe Dance Department gave me the confidence to follow a dream.ā€

Exploring soccer as performance

At the University of Roehampton, Catja completed a dissertation using dance choreography to analyze soccer as performance of national identity in global competition. 

ā€œSoccer is a sport, but itā€™s also a movement language that brings people together,ā€ she explains.

Catja says the Fulbright experience exceeded even her highest expectations.

ā€œIt was just the most incredible year of being allowed to nerd out on my favorite thingā€”which is danceā€”and connect with these brilliant, brilliant people across different fields,ā€ she says.

ā€œAs my program was ending, I realized I wasnā€™t ready to go home yet, and I got the job at the Royal Ballet School, which was just incredible.ā€ 

Dream job at the Royal Ballet School

Catja started as a front-of-house coordinator at the Royal Ballet School, before being promoted in August to marketing and communications executive.

ā€œI write news stories for the school website and newsletters for staff, alumni and the general public,ā€ she says. ā€œIn 2026, we are celebrating our centennial, so a lot of my work will focus on promoting our 100-year events and reflecting on our long history which is very exciting.ā€

Catja says she regularly finds herself leaning on the skills she developed while studying English at ĢĒŠÄTV.

ā€œEnglish helped me become such a strong writer and communicator, which has proven invaluable,ā€ she says. ā€œDance and English gave me very different but very important skills that I use every day.ā€ 

Reflecting on her ĢĒŠÄTV experiences, Christensen says itā€™s incredible how they all came together to allow her to succeed in the field of arts communication.

ā€œThis is genuinely a dream job,ā€ she says. ā€œIā€™m unbelievably grateful.ā€