Celeste Gaiera’s love for dance began as a young child in New Zealand where she grew up and trained in many different styles of dance. After arriving in the United States, she joined a pre-professional ballet training program in Oregon, then moved to San Francisco to further her dance training. She was selected to join Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Graduate Program on scholarship, where she enjoyed many opportunities performing with the company. She joined Texas Ballet Theater as a company member in 2017, under Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., performing a variety of both classical and contemporary ballets during her four years there. Celeste attended Nederlands Dans Theater in 2016, where she performed works by Paul Lightfoot, Sol León, Mengahn Lou, and Crystal Pite. In 2022 and 2024, Celeste was selected to attend the National Choreographers Initiative. She is thrilled to be back for her fourth season with Richmond Ballet.