Claudia Ortiz Arraiza

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Claudia began training in dance at age three with Balleteatro Infantil de Nana Hudo. She went on to study classical ballet at Andanza and the Conservatorio de Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico under Carlota Carrera, Lourdes Gómez, María Teresa Robles and Lourdes Ortega.
She began her professional career with Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico in 2006. In 2010 she moved to Germany to join the Bayerisches Staatsballett, becoming a founding member of Bayerisches Staatsballett II under the direction of Konstanze Vernon and later dancing in the company’s corps de ballet. In 2014, Jahrbuch Tanz nominated her for “Dancer of the Year” for her performance in Richard Siegal’s Unitxt, created for the BSB.
Claudia has since been an ensemble member of Hessisches Staatsballett (2014–16), Ballet of Difference (2017–21) and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (2023–24). As a freelance artist, she has appeared as a guest in several theater productions at Schauspiel Köln and in creations by Marguerite Donlon’s Donlon Dance Collective. She began touring internationally with Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch in 2021 and joined the company as a full-time ensemble member in 2025.
Alongside her stage career, Claudia holds a BA in Art History from the University of Puerto Rico and an MA in Arts and Cultural Management from Leuphana University, where her research examined institutional attitudes toward racial diversity in ballet companies.
In 2027, she returns to the Bayerisches Staatsballett as part of the rehearsal direction team for its restaging of Pina Bausch’s Orpheus und Eurydike.

(Information as of November 2026)