Ophelia Young was born in Harlem, New York City, and grew up in a village in Austria. After completing her Bachelor of Arts degree at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Ophelia danced full-time with the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch for many years. From 2021 until the start of the 23/24 season at Ballet Basel, she is working internationally as a freelance performer and co-author. Since 2021, she has also been working as a rehearsal director for the Pina Bausch Foundation and its projects. Throughout her career, she has worked with Artmann&Duvoisin, Ben J. Riepe, Dimitris Papaioannou, Jorge Puerta Armenta, L Twills, Magdalena Weniger, Mertixell Aumedes, Mirjam Klebel, Nathalie Larquet, Rainer Behr, Saar Magal, Senga Nengudi, Studio Stefan Jovanović and Tim Etchells, among others.