Digital Cover Star

Quickfire Questions With March/April Digital Cover Star Katherine Ochoa

March 4, 2025

To get to know Katherine Ochoa a little bit better, we asked her a series of quickfire questions. Read on to hear more about the Cincinnati Ballet first soloist’s pre-performance routine, favorite music, pointe shoe specs, and more.

What’s your favorite part of class?

Turns.

What’s your least favorite part?

Adagio.

On a dark stage, Katherine Ochoa, wearing a green leotard and black tights cut off at the calf, does a battement with her right leg, pulling slightly off her left leg on pointe as she leans back with her upper body. She lifts her right arm up above her head and crosses her left arm in front of her body.
Photo by Hiromi Platt Photography, courtesy Cincinnati Ballet.

Do you have a favorite spot at the barre?

In the corner, by the windows [with a view of downtown Cincinnati].

What pointe shoes do you wear?

Gaynor Mindens—feather shank, box 4, medium width.

Leather or canvas slippers?

Canvas.

Katherine Ochoa wears a tan off-the-shoulder sweater and black booty shorts. She poses in a turned in passé, grabbing her lifted left knee with her right hand and touching her left side with her right. She poses in front of a red backdrop.
Photo by Joe Lyman, courtesy Cincinnati Ballet.

Coffee or tea?

Coffee—I have espresso every morning.

What’s your favorite snack?

Chocolate.

What is your pre-performance ritual?

I always wrap an electric blanket around my legs to stay warm. And sometimes, when I have a very hard step, I won’t practice it at all before the performance. 

What’s your favorite music?

Reggaeton, Bad Bunny, salsa, and bachata.

Katherine Ochoa and Chandler Proctor dance a pas de deux onstage. Ochoa, in a white Romantic tutu, does a low arabesque on pointe and lens against Proctor, who holds her around the waist with his left hand. They both lift their right arm up and look up towards their hand. Proctor wears a dark velvet tunic and gray tights and ballet shoes.
Ochoa with Chandler Proctor in Giselle. Photo by Hiromi Platt Photography, courtesy Cincinnati Ballet.

What are you watching right now?

I just finished watching “The Perfect Couple” on Netflix.

What are you reading?

I don’t read that much, but I usually read Spanish novels.

What three words best describe you?

Independent, calm, and kind.

cincinnati ballet katherine ochoa q&a