Dena Abergel was raised in Englewood, New Jersey, and began her dance training at age six with Dorit Koppel at the Progressive Dance Studio. Ms. Abergel entered the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, in 1986. She became an apprentice with New York City Ballet in the fall of 1990 and was invited to join the corps de ballet in 1991.

Ms. Abergel has danced featured roles in:

George Balanchine's:

• Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (First Movement)
• Coppélia (Prayer)
• Cortège Hongrois
• Firebird
• George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™ (Hot Chocolate, Coffee, and Hostess)
• "Diamonds" from Jewels
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (Helena)
• La Valse

Peter Martins':

• Chichester Psalms
• Romeo + Juliet (The Nurse)
• The Sleeping Beauty (Queen and Tenderness)
• Swan Lake (Queen, Princesses, and Spanish)

and Jerome Robbins:

• The Concert

Ms. Abergel originated corps roles in:

• Peter Martins' Harmonielehre, Reliquary and Symphonic Dances
• Jerome Robbins' West Side Story Suite
• Christopher Wheeldon's An American in Paris, Carnival of the Animals and Variations Sérieuses