Sophie is an Argentine Tango dancer & instructor with a passion for creative expression. Her dance journey began with classical ballet at the Ohio Dance Theatre throughout her early childhood into teenage years.  Upon attending Kalamazoo College, she joined the student dance collective, Frelon, and studied modern, jazz, and hip hop. Performing with Frelon throughout her time at college and ultimately declaring a concentration in Dance Performance, Sophie consistently felt called to foster community and connection among dancers, and also very much drawn to learning and exploring as many solo styles as possible. Her musical background as a violinist and her academic background in Theatre, Anthropology, and Women & Gender Studies all played into her passion for dance in unique ways, many of which are observable today in her stylistic blend of thoughtfulness, sensuality, play, theatrical flair, and conscious musicality.

In her hometown of Oberlin, Sophie met and began to study with Alberto Ramos Cordero and Micaela Colleen Barrett of the Cleveland Tango School. Argentine Tango is her first social partner dance, and she was immediately fascinated by the implications of exploring space via close embrace with a partner. It was love at first class for Sophie and tango! She has since traveled with, worked for, taught under, and collaborated with the School. Along with her dance partner, Andrew Minor, Sophie is thrilled to have joined the team at Viva, and approaches teaching with two main tenets: 1) if you have a body, you can dance, and 2) staying both curious and kind is the best way to learn anything! She's specifically interested in queer, body-positive, and trauma-informed modalities, and believes fiercely in the potential of dance to embolden and empower every human.

When she's not at the studio, Sophie can be found working as an HR professional and freelance writer. She loves to read, is constantly thinking about getting another tattoo, and enjoys meandering forest/beach dates with friends.