Karen Denise Gabay was born in San Diego, California and began her ballet training at the age of eight at the California Ballet School, and later studied in New York at the School of American Ballet.

A principal dancer with Ballet San Jose, Miss Gabay’s diverse repertoire includes Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, the title role in Giselle, Swanhilda in Coppélia, the pupil in Flemming Flindt's The Lesson, the title role in Roland Petit's Carmen, the principal female in George Balanchine's Theme and Variations, Tarantella and Serenade, the Cowgirl in Agnes DeMille's Rodeo and has had many ballets choreographed for her by Ballet San Jose Artistic Director, Dennis Nahat.

Miss Gabay has been a guest artist with many different companies that include North Carolina Dance Theater, Ballet Tucson, Ballet Nuevo Mundo, The Eglevsky Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Los Angeles Classical Ballet and has toured with Cynthia Gregory's Dance Galaxy throughout South America.

She has performed at various galas and festivals that include the Vail International Dance Festival, the Career Transitions for Dancers Gala in New York City, the Spoleto and Edinburgh Festivals with Rudolf Nureyev.

In 2006, she assisted Fleming Flindt in rehearsing The Lesson, for the Kings of the Dance with Ángel Corella, Johann Kobberg, and Nikolay Tsiskaridze, and later performed in the Hungarian Festival of Freedom Tribute with members of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Miss Gabay is also a rehersal assistant for Ballet San Jose, staging and rehersing the repertoire of the company and she is frequently invited as a guest teacher for many ballet schools across the nation.