LAUREN STEELE
We are so excited to welcome Lauren Steele to Dance Lab OC. Lauren is a Southern California–based dancer, educator, and arts leader, and the Co-Founder of New Classics Ballet Theatre, which she established alongside fellow dancer and collaborator Katie O’Gara. Together, they founded the company with a shared mission to honor classical ballet traditions while fostering new voices and contemporary artistry within the form.
Lauren holds a BFA in Dance Performance from the University of California, Irvine, where she performed in numerous faculty, undergraduate, and MFA concerts. Her university performance credits include Dance Visions, appearing in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Vitor Luiz’s Bitter Suite and Luna E’motions, and Molly Lynch’s Moonlight. She has also performed in original works by Ashley Cook in UCI’s MFA concerts (My Felicity and Fabric of Life) and danced repertory by emerging choreographers Taylor Grandy, Theodora Oldfield, and Milena Raeber.
Lauren performed with SoCal Ballet Scene Festival for two years. She has performed roles in Coppélia and Swan Lake. Her early training and performance experience include full-length ballets such as The Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Coppélia with the Academy of Ballet Arts. She competed in the Youth America Grand Prix from 2014–2019. She furthered her classical training at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive, performing in La Bayadère.
As an educator, Lauren has taught ballet throughout Southern California, including at Temecula Dance Company, GC Dance Company, Yorba Linda Academy of Ballet, and the Academy of Ballet Arts.
She is a certified Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) level 1 instructor and is dedicated to cultivating strong technical foundations, artistry, and longevity in her students.
Lauren is a two-time recipient of the William J. Gillespie Foundation Scholarship. She continues to balance her work as a performer, teacher, and company founder, contributing thoughtfully to the evolving ballet landscape through New Classics Ballet Theatre.