Glam Dance Mom on the Street: Ekaterina Batenhorst

Batenhorst family

Russian born Ekaterina Batenhorst exudes a glam dance mom aura as she glides through life with elegance and grace. Whether she’s dealing with clients or driving to a ballroom dance competition with her kids, Ekaterina never loses her cool or timeless glamour.

Meet Ekaterina

Ekaterina seamlessly manages work, motherhood, and traveling from one dance competition to the next without ever breaking a sweat. Although she looks like she just walked off the runway, she’s a proud working solo parent. Furthermore, she considers her main job as guiding her two beautiful daughters with wisdom and strength. Her biggest joy continues to be raising Maya (age 12) and Lara (age 10). While Maya is the champion ballroom dancer in the family, Lara is the fervent animal lover full of compassion and smiles. It’s clearly evident that both girls share Katya’s steely resilience.

The fact is, raising a champion ballroom dancer is a lot like fostering an Olympian athlete.  Moreover, driving Maya to grueling hours-long dance practices and out-of-state ballroom competitions requires meticulous organization as a working single mom.  At the moment, Maya is doing her dance lessons virtually for hours at a time while Ekaterina is considered an essential worker so she still goes to her finance job daily. As you can imagine, between work, being a proud dance mom, and raising two girls by herself, Ekaterina is the master of managing her time wisely. Although she may be juggling different demands in her day, she still looks beautifully coiffed wherever she finds herself.

Glam Dance Mom on the Street

Which three words best describe your style? Romantic, timeless, glamorous. 

What are your favorite fashion brands? Rebecca Taylor, Ted Baker, Kate Spade, Versace… I have many, really. 

Where’s your favorite place to shop online? Revolve, but I would say Nordstrom’s is my go-to. 

Who’s your favorite style icon? Nicole Kidman and Kate Middleton. 

What’s your best style advice? Keep it simple, don’t overthink it. 

What article of clothing/accessory would you not want to live without? A little black dress. 

Which trend would you want to see make a comeback?  A-line dresses from the fifties. They look so feminine.

What should NEVER make a comeback? Bell-bottoms don’t speak to me. 

What fashion/style did you love at the time, but now cringe when you see old photos? Fluorescent colored crew socks. 

What’s your best style secret? A radiant look. Healthy skin and minimal makeup. 

Stilettos or flats? Both for different reasons.  Mostly stilettos.

Glam Dance Family

What’s your favorite way to spend time with your family?  Number one is having family dinner discussions, sharing all the details of the day, playing board games afterward. We love the outdoors too. 

What’s been your best family vacation? We absolutely love going to the beach and taking walks, kite flying, reading. We can make any beach a happy experience. 

Best parenting advice: Be consistent and intentional with your words and actions. 

Parenting true confession: I never stop wondering if I am doing enough. I know that I’m not supposed to be a mother and a father to my girls simultaneously, but since their dad passed away five years ago, I have to be… Also, I feel greedy about my time with my girls. They grow up so fast. 

What’s your go-to family dinner? We all love roasted chicken and colorful sides. We are a vegetable loving family!

What’s your favorite family restaurant for delivery? To be honest, we rarely order takeout. But if we were to have a delivery, we would order Asian because that’s something I never cook at home. 

Glam Dance Life

What’s your favorite show to binge-watch? I don’t remember the last time I watched TV. But if I ever start, I’ll pull out a list of popular shows. I am a list person after all. 

If you could pick anyone to star as you in a movie based on your life, who would it be? Nicole Kidman. Lots of people comment that we look alike. 

What book is on your nightstand and why?  My nightstand is a mini-library. I have at least 7 books on there now. Which one? The Great Alone, “American Dirt”, “Dear Edward”… I read all kinds of books, including dictionaries and cookbooks. There are too many to choose from to name just one!

What song would you dance to when nobody’s watching?  “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift. I love dancing. 

If you could go shopping with anyone from history, living or deceased, who would it be? I’d ask Kate Middleton to join me. I absolutely love her style. Her stylist can join us, too!

What’s at the top of your travel bucket list? New Zealand for sure. The landscapes are breathtakingly amazing. I’d like to hike some of the mountains. 

What’s your favorite way to unwind at the end of a long day? To cuddle up under a warm blanket with a good book and a cup of hot tea. I savor my quiet moments.

Glam Dance Mom Work Life

What’s your favorite work mom hack after a long day of work? Have a plan. I know it sounds rigid, but it works. 

How do you get dinner on the table quickly? We eat fresh food and I like to keep it simple so that there is very little prep time. Making roasted veggies with baked salmon is easy and fast.

What’s your advice to settle your kids when you’re tired? I teach my kids empathy. So usually just letting them know that I need some quiet time does the job.  They respect honesty and it’s reciprocal. I treat them with the same respect.

What’s your secret to juggling kids, work while still looking fantastic? I like to plan and think several steps ahead. I make sure that everyone in the household knows what is expected of them. This allows things to run as smoothly as possible. 

How do you reward yourself after a long day of work? I very much enjoy core power yoga and Pilates. But my true reward is seeing my family healthy and happy. 

You’re a solo parent, what’s your secret to managing as a working parent? Always staying one step ahead of everyone else and the ability to anticipate where my attention will be needed. I have created an amazing team of helpers around me. It takes a village to do it all. 

Your Glam Dance Mom Style

We love how Ekaterina focuses on staying flawlessly organized in a messy world. Her strong belief in spending quality time with her girls while still honoring quiet time for herself is a lesson that we all can follow. Furthermore, she manages different roles – as a solo parent, mother, a finance professional, and the head of household – like a finely coordinated tango. Like any great performance, preparation is the key.

Ekaterina’s impressive balancing act of working, being home on time for home-cooked meals, and fostering her daughter’s championship ballroom ambitions on the dance floor is a testament to the human spirit. Ekaterina’s core values of focusing on her family first while maintaining great style is a refreshing breath of fresh air in this often distracted world. She teaches us all to slow down, put on that beautiful dress and to look great without apologies, while still focusing on the things that really matter.

You can find Ekaterina on Facebook under Ekaterina Batenhorst. She’s not just another pretty face. Beauty and brains… it’s a winning combination. And that’s what makes her the Glam Dance Mom on the Street.

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