Anchorage dancer gets her break with 'Riverdance' troupe

Katie Anschuetz, a 2011 graduate of Service High now performing as a troupe dancer with the traveling production of "Riverdance," was back in state for a few days this week. "A friend was getting married in Palmer and they let me come home for it," she said.

Anschuetz said she "grew up" in the studio of the Comerford Irish Dance Academy of Alaska and danced competitively in the Lower 48 and internationally. "It's a problem when you're in Alaska," she said. "You have to go out of state if you want to compete."

After graduating from the University of San Diego in May, 2015, she decided to take a year and see if she could "go professional" as a dancer. She flew to Dublin where she underwent a weeklong audition for the Riverdance company and also tried out for other troupes, one of which offered her a job.

"But then I heard back from Riverdance and I joined them in March," she said.

The traveling production, which wraps up next month, has gone throughout the United States and Canada, a grueling schedule of eight performances each week. "Mondays are usually our travel days," Anschuetz said.

Those who have watched the show know that a high degree of athleticism is required of the dancers. "It's definitely a good physical workout," Anschuetz said. "We all try to go to the gym during the day. Stretching is important. We try to eat healthy, which is not easy when you're traveling."

A personal trainer with the ensemble helps keep the performers fit. Anschuetz will rejoin the show for performances in Philadelphia and Virginia before the tour concludes in North Carolina, a notch in the belt for the Alaska hoofer.

"It's definitely a lifelong goal," she said.