Tamara King was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and her dance education was developed under the instruction of Suzanne Johnston, Soili Arvola and Leo Ahonen. In 1981 she received a full scholarship to study at Boston Ballet School's Summer Dance Program, where she had the opportunity to work with such highly acclaimed teachers as Violette Verdy, Helgi Tomasson and Colette Kaufman. Later that year, King joined the Louisville Ballet as an apprentice. The following year she was promoted to the corps de ballet, where she danced a number of soloist and principal roles throughout the season. In 1982, Artistic Director Bruce Marks personally invited King to join Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah where she danced a wide range of repertoire until 1987. In 1987, King joined Mr. Marks at Boston Ballet where she continued to dance professionally until 1991.
In 1991, King retired and returned to New Mexico to raise a family and to pursue her teaching interests. She returned to the east coast in 1994 and was invited to join the faculty and serve as director of Summer Dance Workshop at Walnut Hill School. King returned to Boston Ballet School in 2001, where she has served as a full time faculty member under Rachel Moore, director of the Center of Dance Education. In 2003, she was promoted to principal of Summer Dance Program and just two years later, became principal of the Newton Studio as well as SDP Newton. Today, King resides in Northbridge, Massachusetts with her husband and two children.
