Grace Manuel, originally from New Orleans, Louisiana, began her training after moving to Houston, Texas at Excelsior School of Dance in 2011. She then went on to attend Houston Ballet Academy in 2015. During this time, she attended summer intensives at American Ballet Theatre as well as Kirov Academy in D.C.

Manuel then joined Oklahoma City Ballet as a trainee in 2018, was named Studio Company in 2019 and promoted to apprentice in 2021. Her repertoire includes works by Stanton Welch, Michel Fokine, August Bournonville, Michael Pink, Robert Mills, Austin Hartel, and Septime Webre. Her favorite roles include Friend of Juliet in Robert Mills’ Romeo & Juliet and Little Flamingo in Septime Webre’s ALICE (in wonderland).