Cati Arteaga was born in Madrid, where she began her classical ballet studies at Carmina Ocaña’s Dance Studio, later moving on to study under Carmen Roche. In 1985 she obtained a First Class Honours in the Official Academic Certicate as issued by the Royal School of Dramatic Arts and Dance, the Certificado Académico Oficial de la Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático y Danza. That same year she joined the Ballet Clásico Nacional, then directed by María de Ávila, perforforming in numerous pieces by choreographers of the calibre of Balanchine, Petipa, Tudor etc.
With the arrival of Nacho Duato as the artistic director of the company, (currently known as the National Dance Company – the Compañía Nacional de Danza) Cati Arteagacontinued to perform many of Duato’s pieces as well as those by other renowned choreographers such as Jirí Kylián, Mats Ek, Ohad Naharin, William Forsythe, Hans van Manen, and many others.
In October 1999 she joined the Compañía Nacional de Danza 2 as a repetitrice under the artistic direction of Nacho Duato.