Chantelle Pianetta, Principal

Chantelle Pianetta grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and began her training at Contra Costa Ballet Centre. At 14, she continued her studies at the School of American Ballet, where, as a student, she performed with New York City Ballet in works by George Balanchine and Susan Stroman and originated roles for the New York Choreographic Institute.

New York also gave Chantelle the chance to pursue dance and academics side by side. While studying neuroscience and behavior at Columbia University, she danced with Columbia Ballet Collaborative before returning home to California, where she performed with Bay Area companies for a decade, including Company C Contemporary Ballet, Oakland Ballet, and Menlowe Ballet. She originated roles in works by Susan Jaffe, Val Caniparoli, Gregory Dawson, Brian Reeder, Maurice Causey, and others.

Chantelle joined Golden State Ballet's Corps de Ballet in 2022, was promoted to Soloist for the 2024–25 season, and named a Principal in December 2025. She has danced featured roles in works by Jiří Kylián, Jorma Elo, and Justin Peck; the Snow Queen, Dew Drop, and Sugar Plum Fairy in Raul Salamanca's The Nutcracker; and Titania in his A Midsummer Night's Dream. She originated the title role in Salamanca's world-premiere Cinderella, as well as a principal role in Houston Thomas's The Four Seasons.

Offstage, Chantelle is a NASM-certified personal trainer and a ballet instructor at the GSB Academy. She is also a West Coast Swing champion, a 2022 California Swing Dance Hall of Fame Nova Star Inductee and 2026 Grand Nationals Showcase Champion, who teaches, judges, and performs internationally with her husband, Joel Torgeson.

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