Born and raised in San Francisco, Catherine Pawlick has been involved in the world of ballet since her childhood. She danced with ballet companies in the United States before moving to St. Petersburg, Russia in 2004, where she was determined to use her Russian language skills to open up the world of Russian ballet to the West. Her journey began by observing classes at the Vaganova Academy and rehearsals and performances at the Mariinsky Theatre. Fluent in French and Russian, she has written on dance for the San Francisco Chronicle, Ballet Review, Criticaldance.com, Dance Magazine (US) and Dance Europe. Her first book, Vaganova Today, was published by University of Florida Press in 2011. She currently resides in Russia and covers Russian ballet for international fans of this historical art form.