A Kansas City native, Ms. Abel trained for twelve years under full scholarship at the Kansas City Ballet School. She studied in New York at the Ailey School as a Fellowship recipient, and received her BFA in Dance, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance. Her professional career includes performances with Quixotic Performance Fusion, the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, the Owen/Cox Dance Group, and Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company. Ms. Abel is now in her tenth season with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble and is also Rehearsal Director for the Ensemble.