Arantxa Ochoa, principal dancer with the Pennsylvania Ballet, was born in Valladolid, Spain, where she took her first artistic steps as a rhythmic gymnast. At the age of twelve, she moved to Madrid to study ballet at the Centro de Danza de Victor Ullate. Two years later, she moved to Monte Carlo to continue her studies at the Académie de Danse Princesse Grace, and three years after that, she was accepted at the prestigious School of American Ballet in New York City, where she completed her training. Arantxa studied with some of the best teachers of the moment, including Stanley Williams, Marika Besobrasova, William Burhman, Truman Finney, Suky Schorer and Adam Luders. After her training, she danced for three years at Hartford Ballet before joining Pennsylvania Ballet in 1996.Arantxa's great versatility has drawn the attention of critics and public alike. Of her performance as Lise in La Fille Mal Gardée, The New York Times wrote: ¨Ochoa beamed like Audrey Hepburn, she danced the part with complete command. When a ballet is in the hands of performers this good, you can sit relax and bask in its beauties¨. She has danced many leading roles, including Odette-Odile in Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Juliet in John Cranko´s Romeo and Juliet, Swanilda in Coppélia, Katherina in John Cranko’s The Taming of the Shrew, and the title role in James Kudelka’s The Firebird, to name a few.
Arantxa has danced many leading roles in Balanchine ballets. These include Apollo, Agon, Bugaku, Ballo della Regina, Concerto Barocco, Prodigal Son, Midsummer Night´s Dream, Raymonda Variations, Theme and Variations, Slaughter on Tenth Avenue, Monumentum and Movements, and Western Symphony.
Arantxa has danced numerous pieces by contemporary choreographers, such as Kevin O’Day, Trey McIntyre, Twyla Tharp, Peters Martins, Kirk Peterson, Jerome Robbins and Mathew Neenan. Her professional career has given her the opportunity to participate in many galas and festivals throughout Europe and The United States. She has been invited to dance in The Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, with The Stars of the New York Ballet in London, in the Sintra Festival in Portugal, in Northwest Phalen Tanz in Germany, and with the Chicago Ballet .
While pursuing her dancing career Arantxa has been active as a teacher, leading master classes in Boston, Philadelphia and Hartford.