Janie Taylor began her ballet training in Houston, Texas at age four. At age 12, she moved to New Orleans and started training at the Giacobbe Academy of Dance. She attended summer sessions at the School of American Ballet in 1994 and 1995 and joined full-time in the fall of 1995. In June 1998, she received the Mae L. Wien Award at the SAB Annual Workshop and was invited to become an apprentice with New York City Ballet. A month later, she became a member of NYCB's corps de ballet. She was promoted to the rank of Soloist in February 2001.