Grace Manuel, from New Orleans, Louisiana, trained in Houston, Texas with Liza Pollok and Sonja Staines at Excelsior School of Dance from 2011-2015. She then trained with Houston Ballet Academy from 2015-2018 under Shelly Power. Ms. Manuel joined Oklahoma City Ballet as a trainee in 2018, joined the Studio Company in 2019, promoted to apprentice in 2021, and promoted to corps de ballet in 2023.

Her repertoire includes works by Stanton Welch, Septime Webre, Val Caniparoli, Michael Pink, George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Michel Fokine, August Bournonville, Robert Mills, Austin Hartel, and Ryan Jolicoeur-Nye. Her favorite roles include Wafting Girl in Gerald Arpino’s Birthday Variations, fourth movement corps in George Balanchine’s Western Symphony, and little flamingo in Septime Webre’s ALICE (in wonderland). Ms. Manuel also teaches locally at Marjorie Kovich School of Ballet as well as Dance Studio 150.