Catherine “Cat” Corral – trancenDANCE Co-Founder & Executive/Artistic Director
Cat Corral co-founded transcenDANCE in 2005 with a vision to combine dance theatre and performance with community building, youth leadership, and social change. Cat has co-directed fourteen original dance theatre productions with transcenDANCE to date and has grown the organization from a small, grassroots effort to a nationally recognized and sustainable organization.
Cat is the daughter of a professional Mexican & Spanish dancer and identifies as Latina. Both her Mom & Dad’s families were deeply involved in sharing professional Mexican dance and music in Los Angeles at the historic Olvera Street, Riverside’s Ramona Pageant, and beyond. Cat’s upbringing with dance and music, and understanding of her parents and grandparents’ journey to rise out of poverty, is part of what makes this work so important to her.
In 2018, Cat received the Moxie Award for being a San Diego local leader with exemplary grit and perseverance. In the same year, Cat received a Sabbatical Award from the Fieldstone Leadership Network and Clare Rose Foundation for her work for over ten years as an Executive Director. Cat received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara and holds a professional certificate in Expressive Arts Therapy from University of California San Diego. Her extended training in expressive arts therapy has included work with the Tamalpa Institute and the San Diego Expressive Arts Institute. Prior to transcenDANCE, Cat worked in the social service field and as a dance educator and teaching artist mentor with San Diego City Schools for ten years.