Milena Hartog was born in NYC and raised in the Netherlands. She goes by 'Mila' as it's easier for Starbucks baristas to get right.... but she'll respond to most names starting with an 'M'. Bicycling through dreary grey weather, Mila trained at the Dutch National Ballet Academy, spending most of her early years in leotards and pointe shoes. She got to twirl in various productions with the affiliated HET Nationale Ballet—including their Nutcracker and Mouse King, Romeo & Juliet, and the Hans van Manen Festival—and had the opportunity to perform works by Ohad Naharin, George Balanchine, and Toer van Schayk, amongst others. She then pirouetted her way to ballet companies across the US, before eventually returning to New York and swapping out the pink tights for baggy pants and socks.

Mila loves traveling and exploring, sipping too much coffee, and you'll most likely find her in an all-black outfit at any given time. She thinks oversized sweaters rule and stomping around Manhattan with friends is the perfect start or end of the day. Mila's insanely grateful she gets to roll around the floor for a living now and that she's found an awesome community of artistic beings along the way;

Recent stage moments include projects with The Next Stage Project (Jana Hicks/Marijke Eliasburg), Saya Harada/Long Island Ballet Theatre, Matthew Bovee/Sarah Adam at The Tank, and Julie Carter for Synergy. Mila previously worked with State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara and Portland Ballet in Maine, was featured in productions by the Music Academy of the West and Portland Symphony, and performed as a guest artist for companies in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire.