Rachel Piskin was born in Port Washington, New York, and began her ballet training at the age of seven at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of NYCB. She danced the children's roles of Marie in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™ and Little Red Riding Hood in Peter Martins' The Sleeping Beauty in NYCB productions. As an advanced student she was a demonstrator for Merrill Ashley, Kay Mazzo, and Suki Schorer in the NYCB Seminar "Balanchine and Ballet Technique" during the Company's 100th anniversary celebration of George Balanchine. Ms. Piskin performed featured roles in Balanchine's Serenade and Union Jack in SAB's 2004 annual workshop performance. In September 2004 she became an apprentice with NYCB, and in June 2005 she joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet.