Sophia Pielet is a queer dance artist and collaborator from El Paso, Texas where she grew up studying and performing classical ballet and modern technique. She received her BFA and Minor in Arts Entrepreneurship from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in May 2023. The same year, Sophia was awarded the Thomas S. Kenan Fellowship where she received training in Lincoln Center’s approach to arts education and developed a capstone dance piece with her partner, performed at Lincoln Center, in 2024 and later at Arts on Site. She also joined Marijke Eliasberg’s and Jana Hicks company The Next Stage Project, and has been dancing with them ever since. In January of 2025, Sophia was invited back to perform at the Lincoln Center in a Kenan Fellow Capstone project. Sophia is an arts educator, administrator, and choreographer, and has worked administratively at Lincoln Center and with Cornfield Dance. She teaches at studios and programs around the city including Manhattan Youth Ballet, Brava Dance Center, Moves in Motion, and the Imogen Foundation. Sophia has appeared in dance films and music videos directed by Summer Sierra, Sophia Williams, and other local NYC filmmakers. She enjoys being in front of a camera, modeling for magazines and photographers on projects around the city that focus on movement. She is an active podcaster on her YouTube channel, sharing her life as a dancer and her opinions on her existence in the world. As a lover of community and collaborating with friends, Sophia is currently writing and choreographing a dance film with her partner and film colleagues. Her work will premiere in February of 2026.