Karen Denise Gabay was born in San Diego, California and began her ballet training at the age of eight at the California Ballet School, and later studied at the School of American Ballet in New York City. A principal dancer with Ballet San Jose, Miss Gabay's diverse repertoire includes Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, the title role in Giselle, Swanhilda in Coppelia, the pupil in Fleming Flindt's The Lesson, the title role in Roland Petit's Carmen, the principal female in George Balanchine's Theme and Variations, Tarantella, and Serenade, the Cowgirl in Agnes DeMille's Rodeo, and is most recognized for her roles as Maria and the Tsarina in Dennis Nahat’s The Nutcracker.

   Miss Gabay has been a guest artist with various companies that include North Carolina Dance Theater, Ballet Tucson, Ballet Nuevo Mundo, The Eglevsky Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Los Angeles Classical Ballet and has toured with Cynthia Gregory's Dance Galaxy  throughout South America. She has performed at various galas and festivals that include the Vail International Dance Festival, the Career Transitions for Dancers Gala in New York City, and the Spoleto and Edinburgh Festivals with Rudolph Nureyev.  In 2006, she assisted Fleming Flindt in rehearsing The Lesson, for the Kings of the Dance with Angel Corella, Johann Kobberg, and Nikolay Tsiskaridze, and later that year performed in the Hungarian Festival of Freedom Tribute with members of the Cleveland Orchestra.

   Miss Gabay is rehearsal assistant for Ballet San Jose, staging and rehearsing the repertoire of the company and she is frequently invited as a guest teacher for many ballet schools across the nation. As a choreographer, she has produced ballets for Ballet San Jose, Pointe of Departure, Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet, Ohio Ballet, Dancing Wheels, Cleveland San Jose Ballet, Chautauqua Dance Company, Minnesota Ballet, Key Concerts for the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Cleveland Composer's Guild. 

   Miss Gabay has worked for the Ford Model Agency branch in Cleveland, Ohio and her film and television credits includes the feature film, RENT, The Drew Carey Show, the PBS Emmy-nominated Blue Suede Shoes, the independent film, Twisted, and the Queen of Denmark’s silver anniversary gala for Scandinavian television.

  Miss Gabay currently can be seen on PBS affiliate KTEH’s This is Us! which profiles her career of nearly 30 years as a professional dancer.  She serves as co-artistic director and resident choreographer for Pointe of Departure, and looks forward to their tour to northeastern Ohio in July, and is excited to be making Pointe of Departure’s California debut in August 2009.