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 didn’t know just how far her love of dance could take her until she got to Connecticut College, where she double majored in dance and English and was a scholar in the Media, Rhetoric and Communication Pathway through the College’s Connections program. 

“The Dance Department helped me dream outside of the box and be creative with my career path,” she says.

Catja spent her four years at Conn studying communication across disciplines—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 career—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 King’s College London and “fell in love with the city.”

“I 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,” she says.

As a senior, Catja completed a dance honors thesis in costume design and construction. And then, with support from her professors and Conn’s fellowships advising staff, she took a leap and applied for—and was granted—a Fulbright Research Award to pursue a master’s degree in dance choreography performance at the University of Roehampton in London, one of the leading institutions for graduate studies in dance.

“Before I studied abroad in London, I never would’ve thought I’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, ‘What if I just go down this path and see what happens?’” she says. “The Dance Department gave me the confidence to follow a dream.”

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. 

“Soccer is a sport, but it’s also a movement language that brings people together,” she explains.

Catja says the Fulbright experience exceeded even her highest expectations.

“It was just the most incredible year of being allowed to nerd out on my favorite thing—which is dance—and connect with these brilliant, brilliant people across different fields,” she says.

“As my program was ending, I realized I wasn’t ready to go home yet, and I got the job at the Royal Ballet School, which was just incredible.” 

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.

“I write news stories for the school website and newsletters for staff, alumni and the general public,” she says. “In 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.”

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

“English helped me become such a strong writer and communicator, which has proven invaluable,” she says. “Dance and English gave me very different but very important skills that I use every day.” 

Reflecting on her Conn experiences, Christensen says it’s incredible how they all came together to allow her to succeed in the field of arts communication.

“This is genuinely a dream job,” she says. “I’m unbelievably grateful.”