Karina Gonzales will be in residence with HCDC October 20th- November 16th, 2026 . Catch his World Premiere on HCDC in “Localish” on February 4th and 5th at the Institute of Contemporary Dance at 7:30PM.
Read more about her below:
Karina Gonzales is a native of Caracas, Venezuela, and a silver medal winner of the New York International Ballet Competition. She trained at the Gustavo Franklin Ballet School in Caracas, Venezuela, and has danced professionally with Ballet National of Caracas and Tulsa Ballet, where she reached the rank of principal in 2007. Ms. Gonzalez joined Houston Ballet as a soloist in 2010 and was promoted to principal dancer in 2013. She has danced in principal roles by the world’s foremost choreographers including Ben Stevenson, Andre Prokovsy, Stanton Welch, John Cranko, George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, Jiří Kylián, John Neumeier, Jerome Robbin, Wayne McGregor, Justin Peck, Jorma Elo, James Kudelka, and many others. Gonzalez has appeared as a guest artist with companies around the world, including Ballet Estable del Teatro Colón in Argentina, The Australian Ballet, and Leipziger Ballett in Germany. She has also performed in galas throughout Italy, Mexico, South Korea, Malaysia, Colombia, Cuba, Canada, Germany, and many other countries. She has been featured on the covers of Pointe Magazine, Dance Magazine, and A+C Houston Magazine. The Houston Press named Gonzalez “Best Dancer,” and Pointe Magazine recognized one of her performances as a favorite of the year. Gonzalez has also appeared in television and marketing campaigns for Kimberly- Clark and Honda Civic. She was recognized at the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s annual gala and named one of Houston’s 30 Most Influential Women. She was later invited to perform at the NHK Ballet Festival in Tokyo as part of the first American company to participate in the festival. In May 2024 Gonzalez earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration and leadership and management and is a proud mother of two beautiful baby girls, named Julia and Eva Edwards.