Stephen King is often hailed as one of the most successful horror fiction writers of all time. His works have become cultural phenomena, with TV shows and movie adaptations alike giving King immense success. While King has earned worldwide fame and money for his writing, he has often said that is not why he writes.
"Yes, I've made a great deal of dough from my fiction, but I never set a single word down on paper with the thought of being paid for it ... I have written because it fulfilled me. Maybe it paid off the mortgage on the house and got the kids through college, but those things were on the side--I did it for the buzz. I did it for the pure joy of the thing. And if you can do it for the joy, you can do it forever."
King gets to spend his life doing what he loves, which is what we all want for our careers. However, concerns about money and other factors can get in the way, and we sometimes choose those things for our careers instead of the joy. The luckiest people are those who have both joy and success in their careers, and after talking with physical therapist Katie Kimbrough about her career, I can see that she has both. Katie has continued her dance career as she pursues her professional goals in physical therapy, and her gratitude and happiness shine through as she talks about what she gets to do every day. I got to sit down with Katie and discuss how her experiences with dance and physical therapy intersect to make her a better practitioner and what we can learn from her life and career.
Katie Kimbrough, lifelong dancer
Like many little girls, Katie began dance classes when she was two. Her mom tells her that she loved the costumes the most, but as a very active child, she also loved the synchrony of the music and her movement - she couldn’t get enough and didn’t want to stop moving. As she got older, she learned to love dance for its creativity and expressivity, and it was a beneficial practice for both her physical and mental health. She was on the dance team in middle and high school and even competed at the national level. Unfortunately, due to a knee injury in her senior year of high school, she was unable to audition for college dance teams. However, she still choreographed and performed in dance numbers with her sorority and began her teaching career.
Today, Katie still teaches dance, choreographs solos and duets for competition, and runs a strength and conditioning class for Mt. Laurel Ballet’s performance company. For the past four seasons, she has been a valuable member of Magic City Performing Arts’ production of The Nutcracker as a performer and production coordinator, handling costumes, props, and more for a cast of over 250 performers. It’s safe to say that Katie’s dance career is storied and impressive, and she does not take the length of her career for granted.
“It’s been fun because I haven’t had to give it up. It’s something that I’ve been able to do my whole life in a different capacity at each season of my life with what I was physically able to do at the time, and even now, I still get to teach and work with my kids. It’s been a blessing that I have been able to continue that on top of my professional career, and everyone is very supportive of that.”
Katie Kimbrough, doctor of physical therapy
With her long dance career, it’s no surprise that Katie’s first exposure to physical therapy was as a patient. She first went to physical therapy when she was 11 years old and began experiencing hip problems. After every injury, with the help of her physical therapist, Katie got back to dancing again at the same level she performed before her injury, sometimes even better. This ability to heal the body without surgery amazed Katie from a young age, especially since her first physical therapist happened to be a dear family friend and someone very special to EW Motion Therapy.
“Mike Eskridge was a very close family friend of ours - I called him Uncle Mike. He was my first physical therapist when I was 11 or 12 years old and I started having some hip problems with all the dancing I was doing. I was exposed to PT at a really young age, and I thought he was the coolest and smartest person in the whole world, which he is, that was confirmed. I think I would have a very different opinion of physical therapy and a very different goal for my own career had I not known him and learned from him. I’m so fortunate.”
Under Uncle Mike’s love and guidance, Katie knew she wanted to be a physical therapist from that day on. She started as a physical therapy technician in high school, and she completed her bachelor’s degree at Auburn University in 2019, where she worked in a biomechanics lab and learned all she could about the human body.
“I think the human body is the coolest thing in the whole world, and our capacity to heal it and help it and grow and experience life is truly fascinating to me.”
Katie moved back to Birmingham to attend physical therapy school at Samford University, and after graduation in 2023, it was a no-brainer where she wanted to work. She had always been interested in medicine, and for Katie’s outgoing personality and desire to connect with people, physical therapy was truly the perfect fit. Those connections are what Katie is most proud of, as well as the knowledge she has gained from everyone around her.
“I get to hang out with people all day, I get to use my hands to make people feel better, and I have this infinite knowledge of the human body. It’s fascinated me from the first time I went to see Mike - I have been on that track for a very long time.”
Physical therapy and dance: how do they mix?
Since movement is an integral part of both dance and physical therapy, Katie has often found that her hobby and professional career intersect. As a dancer, she learned balance, body awareness, and how the whole body works together as a unit to move and stay active. Now, as a physical therapist, she has a keen eye for evaluating movement and educating her patients on what healthy movement looks like.
“The amount of coordination and body awareness and proprioception that we are taught and we perfect as we move through a dance career has lent itself to being a natural thing for me when I’m treating patients. I assess their movement as a whole, and I think having a sense of coordination and what coordinating movement is helps too.”
Katie has also found that her time teaching dance has helped her be a better therapist. As a dance teacher, she has to serve a critical coaching role, while also being a cheerleader and supporter for her dancers. A physical therapist is a very similar role, although it is a rare one in the medical field - they get to not only help their patients physically but also emotionally and mentally. This holistic quality of both dance and physical therapy has given Katie a unique perspective, as she influences multiple aspects of her patients’ lives with every session.
Katie’s key takeaways
So, what can we learn from Katie’s career? First, it’s inspiring to hear Katie talk about her career, which is ideal for all of us. If we genuinely love what we do, people can feel the passion and excitement radiating from us - however, the opposite is also true. Katie knows firsthand - if a dancer loses their love for their sport, coaches and teachers can tell.
“If you fall out of love with your profession or passion, it’s obvious in the work that you do or the performance you give. You need to make sure you do whatever it takes to continue to love what you do, and you will do it so much better.”
Dance is not just a fun hobby for Katie—it is an outlet she can use to work through stress and other emotions. She can dance, and the whole world will fade away. Having this kind of outlet is something everyone should prioritize, no matter what their work schedule or other commitments are.
“Find an outlet for your creativity, stress relief, and expression - I think that leads to a really balanced lifestyle. The moments when I’ve been the most in distress are when I didn’t have dance. Whether it’s reading, knitting, sports, or whatever, let it be something that satiates that need in you to be creative, active, and challenged mentally and physically. It makes you better at your job, it makes you a better friend, a better spouse, and a better parent when you can take care of yourself.”
Finally, Katie wants to encourage any dancer reading this (and anyone else) to find joy in what they do. At its core, dance is supposed to be fun, as is any creative outlet. Many people and things in this world might try to steal or mask that joy, but if you persevere and shut out the negative voices, it’s impossible for your joy not to shine through.
“Make sure you enjoy it. Yes, comparison is the thief of joy, and in dance, all we do is compare ourselves to other people, but don’t lose your joy for what you’re doing because it’s obvious from a coach’s or teacher’s perspective if you’ve lost your love for dancing.”
Building relationships and continuing to learn are the keys to success for dancers, physical therapists, and everyone in between. We always encourage our patients at EW Motion Therapy to find joy in the journey, even when it gets hard. Like Mike always said, if you can get a little better, you can get a lot better. If you’re curious about how physical therapy can help you reach your goals, click the button below to download our answers to 20 frequently asked questions.
