Katie O’Gara

Katie O’Gara is a Southern California–born ballet artist and co-founder of New Classics Ballet Theatre. With nearly two decades of training and performance experience, she has developed a strong technical foundation and a deep passion for narrative ballet and collaborative art forms. She trained at Pasadena Civic Ballet and attended the California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley as a ballet and contemporary dance conservatory member. She also trained at summer intensives with The Rock School for Dance Education, American Ballet Theatre, and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, and was a Top 24 finalist in the Senior Women’s Classical Division at Youth America Grand Prix Los Angeles.

Katie earned a B.A. in Dance and a B.S. in Neurobiology from the University of California, Irvine, where her repertoire included Myrtha in Giselle, Russian Girl in Serenade, a soloist role in Paquita, and original works by Molly Lynch, Tong Wang, and Vitor Luiz de Souza Santos. Her choreographic experience began at CSArts and continued at UC Irvine, where she developed a passion for creating original works. A classically trained flutist, Katie enjoys bringing different art forms together and creating new works through collaboration. Katie also teaches ballet and tap at Pasadena Civic Ballet and works as a veterinary assistant, combining her love for animals, science, and service.