Yuting Zhao holds an MFA in contemporary dance from Case Western Reserve University. Born in Beijing, China, she started ballet training at the age of 5. Zhao got her BA in world history from Peking University. After graduation, she attended the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in New York and found her calling.
 
Through the years, she has had the privilege to perform pieces by choreographers including Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Jose Limon, Karen Potter, Gary Galbraith, Nai-ni Chen, and others. She is also the original cast of Pam Tanowitz’s Like Fragments of An Old Song. Her own choreography, including She’d, MetroLife, Vicissitudes, Miniatures, and Emergence were presented in Beijing, New York, and Cleveland. In 2019, Zhao gladly received the Cleveland Arts Prize-The Kathryn Karipides Scholarship.
 
She finds tremendous joy in teaching as well. Zhao is an ABT-National Curriculum Certified teacher in Pre-primary-Level 3. 2015-2016, she taught ballet and dance appreciation in Beijing No.4 High School. Recently she won the Kathryn Karipides Award for Excellence in Teaching after instructing an undergraduate level modern dance course for the 19-20 academic year. Zhao also has extensive experience serving as teaching assistance, administrative staff, interpreter, and translator for dance workshops, intensives, and competitions.
 
Academically, Zhao has published several articles and presented on different international conferences. During her years at CWRU, she worked closely with Gary Galbraith on injury surveillance project and served as research assistant for the Dance/USA Task Force on Dancer Health.