Dalia Hay was born in Queens, New York and began taking ballet lessons at 3 years old with Hungarian ballerina, Nora Kovach. In 1980, she moved to Dallas with her family and studied with the Tuzer Ballet and Dallas Metropolitan Ballet.

At age 16, Dalia accepted her first contract to dance professionally in Tennessee. At 17, she danced as an apprentice with the Ft. Worth ballet for 6 months before signing a contract with the renowned Milwaukee Ballet. With Milwaukee Ballet she performed many full length ballets and contemporary works. In 1986 the Milwaukee Ballet and the Pennsylvania Ballet created a first of its kind joint venture. For 3 years the company performed regularly to audiences in both cities. Eventually the companies split and Dalia remained with the Pennsylvania Ballet where she spent 12 years of her career as a Soloist.

During her years as a Soloist with Pennsylvania Ballet, Mrs. Hay was featured prominently in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker performing the principal roles of Sugar Plum, Arabian, and the exuberant Dew Drop. She regularly performed principle roles in many other Balanchine favorites including Rubies, Agon, Square Dance, The Four Temperaments, and Stars and Stripes. A highly versatile artist, Dalia performed in more classical roles often cast as the starring role in Cinderella, and Myrta in Giselle.

Dalia retired from The Pennsylvania Ballet in 1998 to start a family and open a dance academy with Douglas Hay, a former dancer with the New York City Ballet. They operated their academy in NJ for 20 years and trained many professional dancers. Their students have gone on to dance in major ballet companies such as The New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Dutch National Ballet and Dance Theater of Harlem. Not limited to classical dance, some of their students have gone on to enjoy careers on Broadway as Musical artists.

In 2021, their daughter Juliet Hay, joined the Miami City Ballet and Jonathan their son, lives in Memphis and is a professional guitarist and touring musician. Dalia has since moved back to Dallas in 2018 with her dog Shelby to be closer to her family. Dalia guest teaches at various studios in the Dallas Metroplex as a guest teacher and private coach. She loves to inspire her students with her hard earned knowledge of the art form to “just love dancing and be the best they can be” in a positive and fun atmosphere.