Ilaria Guerra was born in Torino, Italy and moved to Palos Verdes Estates, California at the age of five. She trained at Lauridsen Ballet Center, performing with their pre-professional company, South Bay Ballet, for seven years. Ilaria graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA Program at Dominican University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a minor in Arts Management in 2013. She was nominated for a Dizzy Feet Foundation Award in 2012. She joined dawsondancesf in 2013.