Karina González

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Karina González started her ballet training at the Gustavo Franklin Ballet School at age 7. She danced professionally with Ballet National of Caracas, Tulsa Ballet, and Houston Ballet. She is a silver medal winner of the New York International Ballet competition.

Ms. González joined Houston Ballet in 2013 as a soloist and was promoted to principal dancer after her debut as Nikiya in Stanton Welch's La Bayadere. She has danced in principal roles by the world's world-class choreographers, including Ben Stevenson, Andre Prokovsy, John Cranko, George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, Jiří Kylián, John Neumeier, Jerome Robbin, Wayne McGregor, Justin Peck, Jorma Elo, James Kudelka and many others.

González had the opportunity to have roles created for her, getting acclaimed reviews. One of the most memorable was the role of Juliet in Welch's Romeo and Juliet and the most recent the role of Sylvia in Stanton Welch's Sylvia. She has been invited to the Gala International Colombia (2006) and to the New York International Ballet Competition's Gala (2009). Her first appearance as a guest dancer with a full-length ballet was with Ballet Estable del Teatro Colon in Argentina, performing the role of Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. In 2011, she participated in the Career Transition For Dancers' 26th Anniversary Jubilee in New York City and The Festival de Danza Cordoba in Mexico. In the summer of 2012, Ms. González performed in the International Ballet Gala in Malaysia and was invited as a guest artist with Michele Wiles's Ballet Next at the Joyce Theater in NYC. In 2014, She was invited to guest with The Australian Ballet to dance the role of Nikiya in Stanton's La Bayadere. González has been featured in many publications, being the cover of Pointe Magazine's February/March 2008 issue, Dance Magazine's November 2011 edition and A+C Houston Magazine's November 2011 edition. González was named "Best Dancer" in 2013 by the Houston Press and was one of Pointe magazine's favorite performances of the year for her role of Nikiya in La Bayadere.

González was highlighted in Kimberly Clark's and Honda Civic's 2016 Television and Marketing campaign. In December 2016, González was recognized by The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce at their annual Gala. She was named one of the 30th Most Influential Women in Houston (2017). González was invited to be a guest artist with the Leipziger Ballet in Germany and was invited to participate at the 26th International Ballet Festival of Havana. 

In 2019, Ms. González was invited to represent the first American Company to dance at the NHK Ballet Festival in Tokyo with her role of Juliet. She also made her second appearance with the Australian Ballet, dancing the role of Sylvia (2020), and was invited to participate in Ballet Sun Valley's remarkable performance. González is a proud mother of two beautiful girls.