Kat Files,
Director of Education

Kat Files is a Birmingham, Alabama native and a distinguished dance artist with a comprehensive background in the performing arts and digital marketing. She refined her dance technique at the Alabama School of Fine Arts and graduated from the prestigious Ailey/Fordham University BFA Program in Dance as a four-year Glorya Kaufman Foundation Dance Scholar. Kat also holds a Graduate Certificate in Digital Marketing from The University of Alabama at Birmingham and has earned Hootsuite certifications in the Platform and Social Marketing Courses.

As Director of Education at EMERGE125, under the artistic direction of Tiffany Rea-Fisher, Kat continues to play a pivotal role in the company’s educational initiatives. She continues to manage current education partnerships with Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts, The Stars of Tomorrow Project and has expanded collaborations through residencies at Trinity School and PS 481 (The STEAM Bridge School). Kat continues to expand brand awareness of E125 by implementing a new Masterclass series, attendance at the International Association of Blacks in Dance Conference (IABD), and redesigning the E125 Summer Series. Kat is especially proud to coordinate the inaugural participation of Education partners in the 2025 E125 Company Season. She was also a founding company dancer of EMERGE125 and a company dancer from 2019-2024. Kat continues to perform as a free-lance artist on independent projects. 

As a versatile artist, Kat has had the privilege of collaborating with renowned companies and choreographers, including Germaul Barnes/Viewsic Dance, Tiffany Rea-Fisher, Ebony Williams, Sidra Bell, and EMERGE125. Currently, she serves as a Teaching Artist for the Ailey Arts In Education Program. Kat’s extensive teaching experience includes work with the Misty Copeland Foundation BE BOLD Initiative as a Teaching Artist in the first cohort, Lake Placid School of Dance, Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts, University of Connecticut at Stamford, Girls Inc., Atlanta Dance Connection, and Samford University, among others.

Further highlights of Kat’s career include performing in Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Memnon, The Bacchae, Twelfth Night, and A Christmas Carol in Harlem. She has also appeared as a featured performer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Fox's Gotham, ABC’s Deception, and Amazon Prime’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Kat is excited to have recently joined the Classical Theatre of Harlem's team as a database administrator. 

In addition to her artistic endeavors in NYC, Kat is the Founder and Executive Director of The F.I.L.E.S. Arts Project (TFAP), a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering arts education and providing access to dance, music, and performance opportunities for underserved communities in Birmingham and the surrounding areas. Kat is pleased to have been selected to the Birmingham Creatives for Impact program through the Department of Community Development. 

Currently pursuing modeling and acting, Kat is a member of SAG-AFTRA, Actors' Equity Association, and is represented by MMG and Parts Models.