Sophie Monat

Sophie Monat was born in London, England and began her professional career in Europe where she danced with the Lille Opera Ballet in France and the National Ballet of Portugal. Following eight years as Ballet Mistress to the New Jersey Ballet, she served as Director of the Classical/Contemporary Dance Department at the Orange County School of the Arts and was also Ballet Mistress to the State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara. Ms. Monat is currently a member of the faculty at the CSULB Department of Dance and teaches at the Westside Ballet and Santa Monica College. She also works extensively as a guest artist and has taught, choreographed, and staged a wide range of classical and contemporary ballets for ballet companies, universities, and dance festivals including Stanford University, ODC/San Francisco, the Lyon Opera Ballet, State Street Ballet, Loyola Marymount University, Santa Monica College, and Montclair State University. A three-time recipient of the finalist award at the McCallum Theatre’s Choreography Festival, Ms. Monat formed her dance company, Monat Dance, in 2009. The company has been presented at various venues, including Celebrate Dance at the Alex Theatre and was recognized with an award at the 2011 McCallum Theatre’s Choreography Festival in Palm Desert. Most recently, Ms. Monat was one of six artists invited to participate in the Cohan Collective, a choreographic residency directed by Robert Cohan, Founding Artistic Director of the London Contemporary Dance Theatre.