Clay Koonar was born in Vancouver, Canada where he trained at the Richmond Academy of Dance in ballet, modern and tap. After graduating he moved to Dresden, Germany to further his studies at the Palucca University of Dance Dresden (2015–2016), where he worked with choreographers Avatara Ayuso and Andreas Heise. Upon completing his time at Palucca he was offered an apprenticeship with the Ballett des Saarländischen Staatstheaters (2016–2017), in Saarbrücken, Germany. He joined the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company in December 2017.