Celeste Gaiera’s love for dance began as a young child in New Zealand where she grew up. 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 2017-2021 under Ben Stevenson, O.B.E, performing a variety of both classical and contemporary ballets. Celeste attended Netherlands Dance Theatre, performing works by Paul Lightfoot, Sol León, Mengahn Lou, and Crystal Pite. Celeste was selected as a dancer for the National Choreographers Initiative 2022 & 2024 and danced at Orsolina28 Arts Foundation in 2025 & 2026 in Italy. Celeste traveled to eight countries this summer and loves seeing the world! She is thrilled for her sixth season with Richmond Ballet.