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Biography
Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, the heart of Malaysia, Sofia was introduced to the stage at 6 years old, dressed as an elf in a school production, dancing and singing passionately, which to this day was the onset to a ceaseless desire to constantly return to it. Being the daughter of an English mother and a Malay father as well as growing up in a multi-cultural region, it was impossible to deviate from the artistic diversity South-East Asia is ridden with, and she made a habit out of immersing herself in both the traditional and contemporary arts whenever she could.
She embarked on her dance journey at 15 years old, taking up Ballet lessons and persevered until she finished secondary school at 18. Her teacher drove her from the very start, jumping Sofia from Grade 2 exercises early on to working towards a Grade 4 exam the following year and achieving a Distinction. Sofia continued on to complete Grades 5 and 6 (both of which she achieved high Merit) whilst dipping in and out of workshops and lessons elsewhere in physical theatre and dance (including belly, hip hop, contemporary and salsa). Additionally, with the limited performing arts opportunities in Kuala Lumpur, she actively involved herself in the dance scene, networking and, in some cases, working with big local names such as Bilqis Hijjas (co-founder of MyDance Alliance), Suhaili Micheline (nationally and internationally acclaimed choreographer and dancer) and Tiara Jacqueline (Malaysian actress, film producer and entrepreneur).
Studying at The Alice Smith School, Kuala Lumpur provided her the wonderful chance to participate in the Frantic Assembly Residency workshop twice before graduating where she, amongst many other dedicated Drama students, were predominantly directed by Neil Bettles, creative associate of said theatre company.
She embarked on her dance journey at 15 years old, taking up Ballet lessons and persevered until she finished secondary school at 18. Her teacher drove her from the very start, jumping Sofia from Grade 2 exercises early on to working towards a Grade 4 exam the following year and achieving a Distinction. Sofia continued on to complete Grades 5 and 6 (both of which she achieved high Merit) whilst dipping in and out of workshops and lessons elsewhere in physical theatre and dance (including belly, hip hop, contemporary and salsa). Additionally, with the limited performing arts opportunities in Kuala Lumpur, she actively involved herself in the dance scene, networking and, in some cases, working with big local names such as Bilqis Hijjas (co-founder of MyDance Alliance), Suhaili Micheline (nationally and internationally acclaimed choreographer and dancer) and Tiara Jacqueline (Malaysian actress, film producer and entrepreneur).
Studying at The Alice Smith School, Kuala Lumpur provided her the wonderful chance to participate in the Frantic Assembly Residency workshop twice before graduating where she, amongst many other dedicated Drama students, were predominantly directed by Neil Bettles, creative associate of said theatre company.
She spent her first year abroad at the University of Chichester, to complete one year in the (BA) Hons Performing Arts degree course but found it did not fulfil her. Hungry for a more physical course, she moved to Bristol after successfully being accepted onto the foundation degree at Circomedia, specialising in Acrobatics and Equilibristics & Manipulation (i.e. juggling) which she has since graduated from with a Distinction (First). With no prior experience in either of these skills, she found an advantage of integrating these new talents into her dance knowledge. On top of that, she has acquired skills such as trapeze, kung-fu, African dance, physical theatre, tai-chi to name a few. Since, she has been taught by Sean Gandini (founder of Gandini Juggling), performed at her first juggling convention (the British Juggling Convention 2013) whilst honing her technique and repertoire of skills to mould her into a versatile performer. Upon graduation, she was part of an ensemble piece that was selected to showcase at Glastonbury Festival 2014 that explored, unravelled and mocked the dark underbelly of the human mind in social context.
She was personally offered an internship with Gandini Juggling by Sean Gandini himself in November 2014, and following in January 2015, she participated in the weekend residence at PDSW in Bournemouth for the Young Choreographers' South West programme. In the subsequent months, she was provided the opportunity to perform her work-in-progress at various roadshows across the south west and finally, perform at PDSW as part of the documentary for the said programme, filmed by renowned Kevin Field.
Sofia was fortunate enough to be a part of Greta Mendez's independent film Ah! Hard Rain playing a modern interpretation of the role of La Diablesse. In its premiere at the Omnibus Theatre, Clapham, she performed as "The West" in a live representation of the film.
In 2016, she was cast with three other actors in a McDonald's video called "We Believe In Youth", directed by The Edge Picture Company. In addition to this, she was cast in various shoots and adverts (including Facebook, ASDA Christmas and Rexona among others) as an extra and was selected by the director on set to be positioned behind the main actor in the Facebook advert.
Over the course of recent years, she has been working on two dance-theatre based projects, one based on the influence of social media as a tool and its effects on society today, focusing on our relationship with it, which she showcased at Stratford Circus Arts as part of the fi.ELD festival in October 2017. Her other work explores the role of women in society today, touching on objectification and the female identity, which she has performed at various dance roadshows in the south west of England (Bristol and Bournemouth) and at Bath Spa University as part of the Evolve dance graduate platform. As of 2018, she has showcased it in various forms of development at Camden People's Theatre Calm Down Dear 2018 festival on the first night of Big Bang, at the Albany, Deptford as part of the Lewisham Live! festival in collaboration with the Albany Young Creatives event We Didn't Start The Fire?
Since, she has moved back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a change of scene and will continue her work as a performing artist there.
She was personally offered an internship with Gandini Juggling by Sean Gandini himself in November 2014, and following in January 2015, she participated in the weekend residence at PDSW in Bournemouth for the Young Choreographers' South West programme. In the subsequent months, she was provided the opportunity to perform her work-in-progress at various roadshows across the south west and finally, perform at PDSW as part of the documentary for the said programme, filmed by renowned Kevin Field.
Sofia was fortunate enough to be a part of Greta Mendez's independent film Ah! Hard Rain playing a modern interpretation of the role of La Diablesse. In its premiere at the Omnibus Theatre, Clapham, she performed as "The West" in a live representation of the film.
In 2016, she was cast with three other actors in a McDonald's video called "We Believe In Youth", directed by The Edge Picture Company. In addition to this, she was cast in various shoots and adverts (including Facebook, ASDA Christmas and Rexona among others) as an extra and was selected by the director on set to be positioned behind the main actor in the Facebook advert.
Over the course of recent years, she has been working on two dance-theatre based projects, one based on the influence of social media as a tool and its effects on society today, focusing on our relationship with it, which she showcased at Stratford Circus Arts as part of the fi.ELD festival in October 2017. Her other work explores the role of women in society today, touching on objectification and the female identity, which she has performed at various dance roadshows in the south west of England (Bristol and Bournemouth) and at Bath Spa University as part of the Evolve dance graduate platform. As of 2018, she has showcased it in various forms of development at Camden People's Theatre Calm Down Dear 2018 festival on the first night of Big Bang, at the Albany, Deptford as part of the Lewisham Live! festival in collaboration with the Albany Young Creatives event We Didn't Start The Fire?
Since, she has moved back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a change of scene and will continue her work as a performing artist there.