Born in Brooklyn, New York, Nancy Raffa received her early training under Madame Gabriella Darvash. In 1980, she became the youngest and first American female to win the Gold Medal at the prestigious Prix de Lausanne competition in Switzerland. That same year, she joined Makarova and Company on Broadway and, at age 16, entered the corps de ballet of American Ballet Theatre (ABT). 

In 1985, Raffa became a principal dancer with Ballet de Santiago and later held the same position at Ballet National Française de Nancy. In 1992, she joined Miami City Ballet as a principal dancer. Her repertoire as a principal dancer has been both extensive and diverse. Raffa began her teaching career as an adjunct faculty member at New World School of the Arts in Miami. In 1994, she joined the Miami City Ballet School as a Senior Faculty Member and Assistant to the Director, while also serving as Director of both the Summer Intensive and the Apprentice Program. 

In 2005, Raffa returned to New York and was appointed Director of ABT’s Summer Intensive programs, Company Teacher, Director of Repertoire for ABT II, and faculty member of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. In June 2007, Raffa was appointed Director of Repertoire at American Ballet Theatre. She also co-created the role of Carabosse with Alexei Ratmansky for his 2015 production of The Sleeping Beauty. In addition, she performs character roles in productions such as Cinderella, Giselle, Onegin, On the Dnieper, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, and La Sylphide. 

Since Ratmansky’s appointment as ABT’s Artist in Residence in 2009, Raffa has served as his primary assistant on nearly all of his works created for the company. She has re-staged or reconstructed numerous Ratmansky ballets for ABT, including Seven Sonatas, On the Dnieper, Firebird, Shostakovich Tr ilogy, Songs of Bukovina, Souvenir d’un Lieu Cher, Whipped Cream, The Nutcracker, Seasons, and Of Love and Rage. Beyond ABT, Raffa has staged Ratmansky’s works for leading companies around the world. Raffa has also worked extensively with Twyla Tharp, assisting in the workshop of the Tony-nominated Come Fly Away. In 2010, she staged Push Comes to Shove for Tulsa Ballet Theatre, and in 2019, she collaborated with Shelley Washington to re-stage In the Upper Room for ABT. For ABT’s 2025 Fall Season, Tharp commissioned Raffa to reconstruct her ballet Sextet as part of a celebration honoring the choreographer’s 85th birthday. 

Raffa has served as an honorary judge at international competitions, including the 40th Anniversary of the Prix de Lausanne (2012), and Youth America Grand Prix events in Japan, Mexico, Brazil, and New York. She is a highly sought-after master teacher and has taught throughout the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. Twice honored with special recognition from the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts, she was also a Fulbright recipient, serving as a cultural ambassador and guest teacher in Honduras. In 2019, Raffa was nominated for the Isadora Duncan Dance Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Restaging / Revival / Reconstruction” for Shostakovich Trilogy (2013), choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky and presented by San Francisco Ballet at the War Memorial Opera House. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Honors Program, and graduated magna cum laude from St. Thomas University in Miami in 2002. She is a Certified Ayurvedic Doctor, and a 500-hour Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT- 500), continuing to integrate her deep knowledge of wellness, movement, and performance.