Community Connector · Facilitator · Artist
Kate
Berk
Arts in Health & Social Prescribing
Professional Dancer & Educator
Community Connection Specialist
MA Candidate · Arts in Medicine, UF
I'm Kate Berk, a community builder, arts-in-health practitioner, and person-centered coach based in Cleveland, Ohio. In fourth grade, a public school outreach program called Minds in Motion transformed the way I saw myself and the world around me. It taught me how to listen to my body and pursue goals with purpose, but more importantly, how to turn that discipline into connection and community. As much as I loved to dance, I always knew that its impact was far more expansive than I could comprehend.
"A dance outreach program changed my life in fourth grade, and shaped the commitment I now bring to every community I work with."
I earned my BS in Dance–Arts Administration from Butler University and spent the next decade as a Principal Dancer with Ohio Contemporary Ballet. During those years I performed domestically and internationally, served as the peer-elected Dancer Representative to the board of directors, and facilitated several outreach programs with strong well-being outcomes.
I now pursue an MA in Arts in Medicine with a Social Prescribing focus at the University of Florida, where I serve as a Research Assistant at the Center for Arts in Medicine Interdisciplinary Lab. I founded the Ohio Social Prescribing Collaborative, sit on the editorial board for the Perspectives on Arts in Health Journal, and serve as SAFE Project Coordinator at MetroHealth's Center for Arts in Health, where I oversee an arts-based curriculum supporting student resilience across seven grade levels in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. I engage with working groups for both NOAH and Social Prescribing USA, and recently completed the National Board of Health and Wellness Coach certification through the Community as Medicine program at Open Source Wellness. I hope to use everything I have learned and lived to help people, and the communities around them, thrive.
Whether I'm facilitating a statewide coalition meeting, coaching a pre-professional ballet student to strengthen her technique, or leading a group of older adults connecting with movement over Zoom, I meet people exactly where they are. I work with dancers and non-dancers alike; the goal is never performance for its own sake, but rather the kind of embodied self-awareness and genuine connection that movement makes possible. I also choreograph around the Cleveland area for community-building projects, including the Creative Healthy Aging collaboration between Summa Health and Akron Civic Theater.
Outside of work, I love traveling, taking on new physical challenges, and enjoying chocolate, coffee, and vegetarian delicacies whenever possible. I spend as much time as I can with my husband and our dog, and more than anything, I love building meaningful connections with the people I meet along the way. I hope to do the same with you!
Social Prescribing focus. Research Assistant, Center for Arts in Medicine Interdisciplinary Lab under Jill Sonke. Reviewer, Perspectives on Arts in Health Journal. Scholarship recipient. Completed Fall Arts in Health Intensive.
National Board of Health and Wellness Coach Training. Passed all Practical Skills Assessments well above required metrics. Completed 50+ coaching sessions.
Highest departmental GPA, cum laude. Blue Key, Sigma Rho Delta, Kappa Alpha Theta honors. Instructor at Butler Community Arts School and Health & Recreation Center. Graduated in 3 years.
Certified training in culturally responsive, trauma-informed frameworks, centering safety, equity, and client self-efficacy across arts-based care contexts.
Trained in Question, Persuade, Refer, a research-backed suicide prevention protocol for practitioners working in community-based wellness settings.
Introduction to Being a Teaching Artist · Teaching Artistry for Social Impact
Coordinate the Students Are Free to Express (SAFE) Project, an arts-based, psychologically informed primary prevention curriculum serving pre-K through 2nd and 9th through 12th grade students in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Oversee and support a team of professional teaching artists delivering programming in theater, music, dance, and visual arts. Cultivate relationships with area arts organizations to strengthen program partnerships and expand community reach. Manage program logistics, track student engagement and outcomes, and organize celebrations that honor student creativity and progress.
Pioneered the first Ohio social prescribing working group by mobilizing a team of elite Cleveland institutions, including Cleveland Clinic, Holden Forests and Gardens, and Playhouse Square, through virtual symposiums. Dedicate 20+ hours per week to transforming the way residents connect with their communities through arts-based social prescribing. Also designed and built the collaborative's website: ohiosocialprescribingcollaborative.com.
Conduct outreach and onboarding with transition-aged youth enrolling in arts-based wellness supports. Complete intakes and assess needs related to mental health, access barriers, and social connection. Provide trauma-informed, strengths-based coaching via virtual platforms and coordinate referrals with community partners for culturally relevant, accessible engagement.
Provide individualized and semi-private coaching for participants of all ages and abilities, including those managing Parkinson's disease, chronic pain, and cancer. Choreographer for Akron Civic Theater's Creative Healthy Aging initiative in collaboration with Summa Health, creating performance opportunities for 20+ adult actors over age 55. Deliver virtual and in-person sessions in YMCAs, community centers, schools, parks, and in-home settings. Developed SEL-based ballet program as artist-in-residence at Cleveland School of the Arts.
Principal dancer and outreach lead with Ohio Contemporary Ballet for a decade, touring and performing both domestically and internationally. Led Moving Connections, movement-based wellness programs for 100+ older adults across four senior living communities, and WiggleWords, early literacy-through-movement for 300+ students across five public schools. Engaged in 15+ public speaking events for audiences of up to 500 people. Served as peer-elected Dancer Representative on the Board and acted as Spanish translator on two tours to Cuba with the Cleveland Foundation. Launched partnerships with Cleveland State University, Cleveland Clinic, Workshop of Wishes, and NASA. Established an HR committee that enacted policy changes promoting culturally aware practices, including allowing dancers to wear skin-tone tights and pointe shoes.
Coordinated 25+ community-facing programs and outreach initiatives in partnership with libraries, schools, senior facilities, cultural festivals, and municipal partners. Served as point of contact for eight partner organizations, scheduled 10+ events, and maintained strong communications through CRM platforms and email correspondence with 500+ families annually.
Orchestrated 20+ annual lecture demonstrations and performances annually, serving children, families, and older adults. Coordinated auditions, rehearsals, performances, communications, volunteers, and costumes. During tenure, dance department enrollment grew from fewer than 30 to 150+ students. Used movement as a platform to explore challenging social topics including racism, classism, and identity.
Community engagement is the heart of my practice. From senior living communities to public schools to neighborhood block parties, I know that connection is core to community health.
Pioneered Ohio's first social prescribing working group, mobilizing elite Cleveland institutions including Cleveland Clinic, Holden Forests and Gardens, and Playhouse Square through virtual symposiums, transforming how residents connect with their communities. Visit the collaborative →
Led movement-based wellness programming for 100+ older adults across four senior living communities in Greater Cleveland, reducing isolation, improving mobility, and building genuine community through dance.
Coordinated a cross-sector collaboration between Ohio Contemporary Ballet and CSU's Physical Therapy Department, reducing barriers to care for dancers and creating meaningful clinical learning opportunities for PT students.
Facilitated an early literacy program integrating movement and storytelling for 300+ students across five Cleveland public schools, making learning joyful, embodied, and accessible for every child.
Delivered lecture demonstrations and arts education programming to schools and libraries throughout Greater Cleveland, bringing ballet, storytelling, and arts-in-health education into every kind of community space.
Plan block parties and new neighbor welcome packages that are free to the community thanks to the support of 7 local sponsors that I've worked to secure.
Partnered with Workshop of Wishes to bring personalized dance experiences to children with critical illnesses, offering joy, dignity, and movement to kids and families during extraordinarily difficult times.
With over a decade of teaching experience spanning ballet, contemporary, jazz, creative movement, and wellness-focused movement, I meet every student where they are. From pre-professional ballet students to older adults discovering movement for the first time — the studio is a place of growth, curiosity, and genuine connection.
Individualized coaching for all ages and abilities — ballet technique, pointe, contemporary, alignment, injury prevention, and pre-professional mentorship. Available virtually and in-person.
Classes in ballet, pre-pointe, pointe, variations, contemporary, modern, jazz, creative movement, and stretch/conditioning, offered at studios, YMCAs, community centers, schools, parks, and virtually — distance is no barrier to great teaching.
Guest faculty for summer intensives and festivals. Enrichment courses in nutrition, self-care, injury prevention, dance history, choreography, improvisation, and stage hair/makeup.
Specialized programming for older adults, individuals managing chronic conditions, and anyone seeking movement for mobility, alignment, and well-being rather than performance goals.
Arts-based educational programming in schools, senior centers, libraries, and community organizations, making movement culturally relevant, accessible, and genuinely joyful.
Using movement as a vehicle for meaningful conversation, exploring identity, belonging, resilience, and community. Informed by trauma-aware pedagogy and Social Emotional Learning best practices.
Ten years of performance, community, and choreographic work — from principal roles to original works created for Cleveland stages and beyond.
Dance Reel — Ohio Contemporary Ballet
Choreography: Francisco Gella · 2024 · I portrayed Daisy Hill and begin with my hair down on the box.
Choreography: Charles Anderson · 2016 · I am the principal woman.
Choreography: Ivan Alonso · 2017
Choreography: Richard Dickinson · 2023 · I do sections in the beginning; final pas de deux at 14:30.
Choreography: Tommie-Waheed Evans · 2018 · I start walking across the front and perform the principal role.
Choreography: Andrew Carroll · 2017
Choreography: Richard Dickinson · 2022 · I portray Clara.
Choreography: Tommie-Waheed Evans · 2017 · I start with the solo in the corner.
Choreography: Richard Dickinson · 2025 · I am in the red dress.
Cleveland Public Theater · 2023
Ohio Contemporary Ballet Center for Dance · 2025
Akron Civic Theater · 2021 · Excerpts
Butler Ballet Black Box Theater · 2015
EJ Thomas Hall · 2019
Baldwin Wallace Gamble Auditorium · 2022
Cleveland Public Theater · 2018
Cleveland Public Theatre · 2016
Arts in Motion Wellness is my private practice at the intersection of movement, arts, and community health. Whether you're an individual seeking joyful embodied wellness, a healthcare provider curious about social prescribing, or an organization looking to bring arts-based programming to your community, I'd love to connect.
Virtual and in-person movement instruction tailored to your goals, ballet technique, joyful movement for wellness, alignment work, or dance as a tool for emotional regulation and self-expression. All ages and abilities welcome.
Consulting for healthcare systems, community health organizations, and nonprofits interested in integrating arts-based social prescribing into their practice, drawing on graduate research, clinical training, and a decade of community partnership work.
Collaborative design and facilitation of arts-in-health programming for hospitals, senior communities, schools, and nonprofits. Trauma-informed, evidence-informed, and built around your community's specific strengths and needs.
Whether you're an individual, a healthcare provider, or an organization, I'd love to hear what you're working on and explore what's possible together.
My background spans arts administration, community health, social prescribing, and professional dance. Resumes below are tailored for different contexts. Reach out if you'd like to discuss a specific opportunity.
I'm always open to conversations about collaboration, consulting, teaching, speaking, or simply connecting with others who care about the intersection of arts and human health. Don't hesitate to reach out.
