Barette Vance, a native of Laguna Hills, CA, began her dance training at age three at Saddleback Dance Center in California. In the following years, Ms. Vance had the opportunity to train with such notable teachers as Cynthia Gregory and Ann Marie D'Angelo. In 1998, at age 14 and after attending The School of American Ballet summer program for two consecutive summers, she was offered a scholarship to attend the year-round program at SAB, where she danced for five years. During this time, she also completed summer programs on scholarship at Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Houston Ballet, and Miami City Ballet.

While studying at The School of American Ballet, Ms. Vance performed in choreography workshops and New York City Ballet lecture demonstrations, dancing principal roles in Stars and Stripes, Who Cares?, Rubies in Jewels, and Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux. She also performed principal roles in Teleman Overture Suite in E Minor, Ballo della Regina, Sleeping Beauty, Napoli, and The Flower Festival at Genzano for the SAB Workshop Performances.

Ms. Vance became an Apprentice with Pennsylvania Ballet in September 2003, and was promoted to Corps de Ballet in August 2005, and to Soloist for the 2008-2009 Season. Since joining the Company, she has danced numerous featured roles in ballets such as in John Cranko's Romeo and Juliet, Val Caniparoli's Lambarena, Marius Petipa's Giselle and The Sleeping Beauty, Paul Taylor's Company B, Twyla Tharp's Nine Sinatra Songs and Push Comes to Shove, Matthew Neenan's As It's Going, Robert Weiss' Messiah and Octet for Strings, Peter Martins' Fearful Symmetries and Barber Violin Concerto, and George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™, Ballo della Regina, Who Cares?, and Serenade. She also originated a featured role in Benjamin Millepied's This Part in Darkness.

Also in 2008, Ms. Vance was featured in Philadelphia Magazine along with Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, and Philadelphia Phillies 2nd baseman Chase Utley as one of the most influential people in Philadelphia. In 2010, Ms. Vance received the title of the Janis and Stephen Goodman Soloist Dancer. Later that year, Mentor Me Community Support honored Ms. Vance with a Community Impact Award for her work with underserved children in Philadelphia.