Sophia Lucia: Difference between revisions

|image = File:Sophia Lucia March 2025.jpg

|school grade = High School Class of 2021 <br> College Class of 2025 (Bachelor in Psychology (major) - University of Arizona)

|profession = Choreographer <br> Dancer <br> Dance Teacher <br> Model <br> Psychologist <br> Entrepreneur

|dance studios = San Diego Dance Centre (2004-2013) <br> Abby Lee Dance Company (2013) <br> RT Dance Academy (2013-2014) <br> Danceology Performing Arts Campus (2014-2015) <br> Master Ballet Academy (2015-2016) <br> Rhythmic Gymnastics School (2016-present) <br> PAVE School of the Arts (2021-2022) <br> Dance Lab OC (2022-present) <br> Adage Dance Center (2022-present) <br> Avanti Dance Company (present) <ref>[https://www.avantidancecompany.com/youth-schedule/ ADC HP Youth Schedule]</ref>

|friends = Ethan Bloem (boyfriend)<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/ethan.bloem/ Ethan Bloem's IG]</ref> <br> [[Kalani Hilliker]] <br> Amber Hoffman <br> [[Camila Schwarz]] <br> [[Hayden Hopkins]] <br> [[Kaycee Rice]] <br> [[Kaeli Ware]] <br> [[Kylie Yamane]] <br> [[Everleigh Soutas]] <br> [[Mackenzie Ziegler]] <br> [[Maddie Ziegler]] <br> [[Autumn Miller]] <br> [[Ambry Mehr]] <br>[[Avery Gay]] <br> [[Asia Monet Ray]]  

}}'''Sophia Maria Lucia''' (born on September 7, 2002 in San Diego, California), is an internationally established, multi-awarded professional dance teacher, ballerina, industry dancer, choreographer, model<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/CgneqgSJsEk/ Sophie`s IG - Director of Photography Claudio A. Robles 🇸🇻]</ref>, entrepreneur, psychologist, and a philanthropist with Italian, Irish, German, French and Swedish roots living in Los Angeles.

She is holding the official Guinness Book world record by completing 55 consecutive pirouettes at the San Diego Dance Center in Poway, California, USA on 30 March 2013 at the age of 10.<ref>[https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/82089-most-consecutive-pirouettes-contemporary-dance#:~:text=The%20record%20for%20the%20most,USA%20on%2030%20March%202013. Guinness Book WR Lucia]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b1JLuv5WVQ Sophia Lucia - Record Breaker]</ref> She started managing her own founded [https://www.instagram.com/fallfiveintensive/ Fall Five Intensive workshops] ([https://www.fallfiveintensive.com/ HP], [https://www.tiktok.com/@_sophialucia/video/7552986592789433630 Promo]) since 2023, frequently running over two days for juniors and seniors. In last year as of October 2025, she worked often in European and Canadian cities, such as London, Paris, Calgary and Cracow, mostly as instructor or choreographer on major dance events. Meanwhile she is considered as part of the American Dance High Society.<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/galaofthestars/ Gala of the Stars' IG]</ref><ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/DQKf7_GEgce/?img_index=1 Soph's IG DAC GOTS 2025]</ref>

As a young dancer and choreographer, she was mostly trained at Master Ballet Academy in Scottsdale, Arizona, but she didn't graduate and aborted her education. She had danced and was trained before by San Diego Dance Centre and Danceology Performing Arts Campus, both owned by her cousins, Kristen Hibbs and Nicole Lucia respectively. So Sophia thinks she was basically born into dance.<ref>[https://www.naludamagazine.com/sophia-lucia-interview/ Naluda Magazine Exclusive interview with Sophia Lucia]</ref>

She started at San Diego Dance Centre when she was two years old until she was 11 to be one day on Lifetime’s ''Dance Moms'' show. She is trained in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Ballroom, and Contemporary. Sophia moved to Scottsdale, Arizona at the age of twelve to train with Master Ballet Academy and later danced with the Phoenix Ballet and Ballet Arizona. When she was 8 she was already dancing 55 hours per week. Still today she has an average 9-10 hours working day.

She did commercials, such as, for [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bMmfAlhgHE McDonald's]<ref>[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2t91zy Sophia Lucia in Monster High McDonald's Commercial]</ref>, Old Navy<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91ABPgy7Exw Sophs Old Navy Commercial]</ref>, Party City and some promos for the Shirley Temple Story and A Nutcracker Christmas movies she was featured.

In 2015, Sophia participated in a YouTube series named "Teen Dance Challenge" ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfMBFE_odUk Ep10 Sophia Lucia HD], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctv5T6sJCiQ EP9 Sophia BTS HD]) alongside [[Talia Seitel]], [[Lucy Vallely]], [[Chloe East]] and [[Sean Lew]]. In December, she was [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz10oGO4osU announced as the winner] by Instagram online voting of the grand prize of a one year scholarship at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City worth $30,000 USD, including full tuition and housing.

In 2016, Sophia helped her dance partner [https://www.instagram.com/wmjack_beckham/ William Jackson Beckham], a promising young dancer for the Sylvia Company, Japan, 16 at that time, out of competition - because she was under age limits from 15 to 19 (reg 1.2, because under 15 she violates the Bulgarian (EU) child labor laws; it`s death serious pro in Varna) and competitors may participate also with a partner who is not a competitor at all, when they perform a pas-de-deux or contemporary choreography where more than one performer is required (reg 1.7) <ref>[https://varna-ibc.org/competition/regulations/ Varna IBC regulations]</ref> - at her age of 13 took him home the Gold Medal and the First Class Distinction Diploma in Junior Division <ref>[http://balletfederation.com/?p=912&lang=en IBFC - We are proud to announce the winners of the XXVII International Ballet Competition – Varna]</ref>  ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZN0NU0HJ9M first dance], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVZgAzWiAQA second dance], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW2MPOGcue8 third dance], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYAj5T7BDww fourth dance], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyKJQ7DIYDk fifth dance]) at [https://varna-ibc.org/ XXVI. Varna IBC 2016] and were representing the USA. They had trained and rehearsed about 8 months full-time for this event. But being the youngest performing at Varna IBC, she was awarded with a Special Bounty Partnership Award.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxz6fl1NYqE Awards to Sophia Lucia and William Jackson Beckham @VARNA IBC 2016]</ref> Afterwards, Soph is considering herself a professional dancer. Jack won also the “Promising Young Dancer” award in Varna. As of 2018, he was promoted to main company at the Tusla Ballet in Oklahoma. <ref>[https://tulsaballet.org/company/dancers/william-jackson-beckham/ Tusla ballet JP Jack Beckham]</ref>  Sadly he quited pro ballet dance later, maybe due injuries and has became a pilot. To understand, the Varna IBC is considered as the "Olympics of Professional Ballet and Contemporary Dancing", it was the very first professional ballet competition, which was hold every two years from 1964 to 2019. After Coronavirus, lack of sponsorship and changes in the local organization, and now the war in Ukraine putting a damper on Black Sea tourism. So they are on pause currently. About 40 countries had send up 150 of their most promising young dancers to the Bulgarian city. The faculty of Varna IBC were members of the best experts around the globe and also known as the toughest judges you can ever get, and because Ballet is an academic field in many countries, a lot had a professorship as well. So the Junior Winners don`t just won a medal, they get strait a First and Second Class Distinction Diploma. It´s like ''`how to get a college degree summa cum laude within 15 days`''. The most prestigious Ballet companies and theaters on the world requested the winners become a member in their ensembles, because many winners of the Varna IBC, such as, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Natalia Makarova, Sylvie Guillem, Vladimir Vasiliev, Natalia Bessmertnova, Patrick Dupont, Yassen Valchanov, Vladimir Derevyanko, Farukh Ruzimatov, Alla Mikhalchenko etc, became the world`s best and finest ballet dancers at their times. And to give outsiders a feeling how Ballet is rated. If you ask any pro dancers around the world about their open top 10 list of the best dancers of all time, the structure is always the same: Nine from Ballet plus Michael Jackson.  

Soph got a lot of job offers around the world after the Varna IBC as well, including Broadway, but she had no idea how to use them at her young age. When the faculty of Varna IBC gave her the Special Bounty Partnership Award, they told her properly how talented she is and how she was unofficially rated, when she had been allowed officially to compete. So the 13 years old ambitious Sophia, who was dragged through the TV shows as World Record Holder when she was ten and had never school class mates in a regular school due homeschooling to keep her grounded, couldn't resist, started bragging and exaggerated the event a little bit and stick in it for years: "... when I won the Gold Medal in Varna ..."(Interview in 2019). And then it got a dynamic by its own, when people framed her words  in her resume in Gold as well and distributed it around the world and then suddenly US Ballet Officials knocked on her door and asked her, if she minded to represent the US worldwide abroad as the "Gold Medal winner of Varna". And Sophie took event by event and kept silence about some small details.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdVxfsA-VM4 55 Questions With Sophia Lucia]</ref> But since her young success in the Ballet industry, she’s had the honor to perform worldwide representing the USA as a "Gold Medalist".<ref>[https://www.joffreyballetschool.com/sophia-lucia/ Joffrey Ballet HP]</ref> <ref>[https://celebritydance.com/conventions/sophia-lucia/ Celebrity dance HP]</ref>

Sophia and her partner went on and received a Silver Medal [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiZ5vdJJ-Dk with "Path"] pas-de-deux in contemporary dance at [https://yagp.org/ YAGP nationals] in New York City, shortly before Sophia won first place in contemporary dance category and Jackson the Grand Prix round in San Diego, CA.<ref>[https://yagp.org/yagp-2016-new-york-ny-winners/ YAGP 2016 NY]</ref> <ref>[https://yagp.org/yagp-2016-san-diego-ca-winners/ YAGP 2016 San Diego]</ref><ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/BBSpeiYmYbX/ Jack*s IG YAGP]</ref> <ref>[https://dance-teacher.com/pirouette-superstar-sophia-lucia-wows-at-yagp-finals/ DanceTeacher - Pirouette Superstar Sophia Lucia Wows at YAGP Finals]</ref> After then she made her acting debut in [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR_Myn9U18w Hallmark’s “A Nutcracker Christmas],” portraying a young ballerina with aspirations to become a prima ballerina ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxYsCtKO0vI Sneak Peak]) - [https://www.instagram.com/p/DDp3zgFzQ24/?img_index=1 Screen Impressions].<ref>[https://teenplicity.com/sophia-lucia-talks-a-nutcracker-christmas/ Teenplicity - SOPHIA LUCIA TALKS A NUTCRACKER CHRISTMAS]</ref> During her time filming, she continued to train and dance with the National Ballet of Canada in Toronto. [[Maddie Ziegler]] and [[JoJo Siwa]] were attending the premiere after Sophia invited them. At age 13, [https://eu.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/arts/2015/12/22/nutcracker-review-phoenix-arizona/77711964/ she portrayed the Harlequin Doll] in Phoenix Ballet's production of The Nutcracker at Orpheum Theatre.

Sophia got homeschooled since class one, but she visited about a year a private school at the age of 15, to get in contact with some peers to process her mobbing experience. But she felt she doesn't fit in and noone really would understand her. She felt lonely and it would made it acually worse. She thinks, because she got pro at such young age and was already travelling abroad so many times, she got much faster mature than her class mates, who didn't really understand her problems. She got her high school diploma at the age of 16 and went first to a community college for the next two years, because she was only 16 when she graduated and not ready to live by herself in New York yet, before she has finally transferred to a four-years university, when is was 18. She stated she will majoring in psychology at the New York University (NYU).<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/dancemoms/comments/a8y1h3/sophia_lucia_is_going_to_college_and_majors_in/ Sophia Lucia`s interview about her education]</ref> Ahhh... self-diagnostics. Her high school diploma is just recognized outside California since she graduated college (see also [https://www.chspe.org/about CHSPE]) and as to remember the corona quarantine measurements peaked at that time, especially in New York City, which had for sure an effect on her education as well. On March 2023, she said she went actually to the University of Arizona at the age of 18. She was studing psychology. Her goal was to become a sports pychologist and work with child prodigies, like she herself was, and try to avoid that they have to go through the same crap. The graduated as Bachelor with 20. She wanted go to on Master, but she wanted to dance and dropped it. <ref>[https://open.spotify.com/episode/0QKaapgxGmIdA7A3xnFkCM The Sitch - College Culture]</ref> She studied psychology, but we don't know if a bachelor degree is enough being allowed call oneself psychologist. <ref>[https://www.tiktok.com/@_sophialucia/video/7307389667035598126?lang=de-DE Soph's TikTok a little bit about me]</ref> At the University she was a loner and a geek as well, while many of her college mates had more parties, sex and drugs in mind. Especially the penetrant attempts of some people trying out some drugs made her really pissed. She prefers still today being at home after working and is going out mostly with her boyfriend. She said beyond him, she considers just two girls as her true friends, the rest are more or less down to a degree of being acquaintances. <ref>[https://open.spotify.com/episode/0QKaapgxGmIdA7A3xnFkCM The Sitch Podcast - College Culture]</ref><ref>[https://open.spotify.com/episode/6mmIwoOAjujr5eG5XRigz0 The Sitch Podcast - Quality Friendships]</ref>

But she experienced already some unpleasant mobbing at the Master Ballet Academy (MBA), because she got some weight and the males were too weak to lift her and gave her mean nicks. She was in Ballet always referred as "The Big One" except at the MBA, there was "The Fat One". Many girls when going into puberty they get a little chubby just by hormonal imbalance without changing any eating or activity habits, and it normalizes within one or two years, except they got bullied and start feeding because they are depressed now. So the MDA and others forced her to do constantly some diet just for training despite her nature. This bullshit happens often in the dance industry. The working atmosphere stayed toxic so that Soph felt like she met [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHxf17yJsKs Gunnery Sergeant Hartman] and she wanted to quite pro dancing at all. Regarding Soph her dance teacher joined and insulted her on daily basis for two years (see fun facts). She considers her experience at the MBA as really dark time. But also interesting, when Soph was younger she said she was pretty much best in every class and able to do any move and turning sequence put in her routine easily, but when she joined MBA, she said she was the worst in ballet in her class. She found it quite refreshing have people to look up to. - Again, this girl did Varna 1.5 years later. After a winner celebration at Varna she said it was one of her longest moments. No one to celebrate it with at a peak of her career. No one to talk about with.  

Then she herself, her family and closest instructors put her constantly under pressure being number one, perfect, fast and first in anything; getting caught a couple times by showing off to keep up with her image facade as "nerd revenge", because she felt committed to statements she made when she was a kid, were just indications. Properly her [https://sophialuciasblog.home.blog/ Blog entries] topped it all. Soph has a strong tendency doing silly things to hide her true feelings.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJchsvv9prM sophia lucia instagram live 10/23/20]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJchsvv9prM leaving the ballet world, what happened to SDDC, & more]</ref> Behind her facade she is actually quite vulnerable. She knows, she is material become one day principal dancer in a famous ballet company, but somehow it stagnates, and then the US Ballet Officials appeared to ask her representing the US worldwide. In consequence, Sophie got more and more depressed, had eating disorders and went into therapy for her mental health.<ref>[https://www.tiktok.com/@_sophialucia/video/7006742481148693766?is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7006742481148693766 Soph's TikTok]</ref> Maybe a session went this way: ''S:"I have no time for this bullshit. What is your rate again? ... Oh, that much. Maybe I should go to college, majoring psychology and doing your job." - T:"Perfect. Therapy worked. Mental health restored. Now I can raise my rate for next time." -S:"Now I see how it works." - T: "Excellent! Now I will charge you an extra fee, because you wanted also learn to distinguish between who can be trusted and who is using you."'' But it finally ended with her third boyfriend. With him she started going out more often and partying a lot. Finally a social life and happy end. She celebrated her 20th birthday with some of her closest friends and was teaching her guests: Pirouettes! No therapy in the world can get this out of her.  

On July 2021, she moved to LA after she lost her job due COVID-19 and actually had to leave her own house until December, because she couldn't afford it any longer. She would prefer Orange Country, where she got a new fantastic job. She hates LA and would like to go to Orange Country <ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/CSNhfBoJ-6q/ Soph#s IG Instagram Live 8/5/21]</ref>, but actually her boyfriend moved later to her when she was 19.<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/CaAxktYqjL7/ body & soul]</ref>

So on February 14, 2023 (Valentine's Day), Soph and Ambry started their podcast ''[https://open.spotify.com/show/2Ou3CGNkvIsmAXeTtqUzKa The Sitch]'' on Spotify and Apple. A podcast about helping women navigate their 20s and create their dream life: chatting about all things dating, self-worth, confidence, body image, the dance world, friendship & more. Sharing advice, juicy girl chats & tips. On August 7, she revealed by a podium interview the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7fyG4YFRjc Realities Of Performing Professionally During Childhood] (brief youth experiences, turn techniques and her planned upcoming company for kids in safe, pressureless, non-competitive environment) at the [https://hdedance.com/ Hollywood Dance Experience] convention 2023. She choreographed also for the [https://joffrey.org/ Joffery Ballett].On November 30, she described a typical week: Monday to Wednesday 9-10 hours teaching, diving back to LA, cooking dinner, watching videos or TV with her boyfriend and on Fridays, she is flying to conventions or different countries and spent a lot of her time lonely at the airports or in planes. But she loves her job and hopes her hard work brings her someday to bigger success beyond teaching - A typical [https://www.tiktok.com/@_sophialucia/video/7429781200232926506 Thursday Vlog on October 10].

Between 15 - 17 March 2024, after a long time, she starts [https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4lhMhuOFuo/ teaching classes aboard again, beginning in London, UK] on the self-proclaimed ''"World's Biggest Dance Event"'', the [https://www.moveitdance.co.uk/ MOVE IT Dance Show] at [https://www.instagram.com/excellondon/ ExCeL London Event Center]. <ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/C4d-AKKiUMo/?img_index=1 Soph's IG Move IT London]</ref> On October 9, 2024 she got [https://www.instagram.com/p/DA6nlC1zgHh/?img_index=1 invited as special guest to the Industry Dance Awards] and met Robert Hoffmann aka Contemporary Eric again. And she is still the [https://www.instagram.com/p/DBKAT1dCajb/ biggest kid on the floor]. She choreographed for the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FrsmfaS1wY Carneval concept video READY - the visual] and performed with her fellow dancers Kaya McAfee, Elle Dimos, Chelsea Brownie, Sarah Moore, Sarah Laskowski, Josephine Kylee Zarzosa, Maia Rogers, Meghan Ranahan and Soph Domino. On December 8, 2024 Soph continues her [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-lKxa4g90A partnership with ''Dancers Against Cancer (DAC)'' and founded ''Fall Five Intensive''].

As of November 2024, Sophia has 1.4M+ Instagram and 288k+ TikTok followers and 141K+ YouTube subscribers.

Soph in on the faculty of the [https://www.instagram.com/intriguedanceconvention/ ''Intrigue Dance Intensive Convention''] [https://www.gointrigue.com/tours/ Season 24/25] and is already announced for next [https://www.gointrigue.com/2025-2026-tour-dates/ Season 25/26]. On April 5, 2025 the was judge for the Olando, FL [https://www.instagram.com/intriguedanceconvention/reel/DIEiNMQOIvj/ ''Teen Continental Contemporary'' audition]. She wanted to point out this [https://www.instagram.com/_sophialucia/reel/DIHYsZ8SJIM/ unknown young talent here] in her junior class later. So we do. Between April 10-13, 2025 [https://www.instagram.com/p/DHv7mjLOwjs/ Soph is annouced as technique judge] on the famous [https://hitthefloor.ca/en/ ''Hit the Floor'' Dance Event] in Villé de Saint-Hyacinthe, Canada. Since 2010 the event has welcomed over 369,500 spectators, 84,000 dancers, 2,275 volunteers and 2,225 dance schools. This year the event was already in Gatineau - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swkh8CTB4N8 Show 2025], will be in Saint-Hyacinthe, and in Quebec on May 15-19, 2025. [https://www.instagram.com/p/DH4KbYTT_cr/ Sophia has prepared a show special with her fellows] - Devin Xander Waxman, Coco Williams, Chloe Lopina, Davyd, Sarah Moore and Kevin Lau - for it. On stage [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKr_UVoDldo SOPHIA LUCIA COLLECTIF | Hit The Floor Saint-Hyacinthe].

 

On October 20, 2025 Sophie got the Industry Dance Award in the category [https://www.instagram.com/p/DQDv0IliD2T/ 'Breakthrough Artist Award'] presented by 2024 winner, the legendary [[Autumn Miller]] - [https://www.instagram.com/p/DQH9D86Eqxg/?img_index=1 Sophia on the IDA2025], [https://www.instagram.com/p/DQPkcFiDnyr/?img_index=1 Sophia's impressions]. One day later, she was supporting the charity event of ''Dancer against Cancer (DAC)'' - ''Gala of the Stars'' - [https://www.instagram.com/p/DQKf7_GEgce/?img_index=1 Soph's impressions] being side-by-side with legends of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOeEg4PTXEI 2024 Gala of the Stars | A Night of Dance, Philanthropy, and Inspiration]. Even [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liza_Minnelli Liza Minelli] was coming. The fund was raising over $700,000 USD<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/DQGdhe_jjTI/ Gala of the Stars' IG Raised Fund 2025]</ref>.

 

|2^nd in Age 12 & Under Jazz Solos

|3rd in 12 and under Lyrical solos

|[[Nick Meola]]

|[[Bella Hoffheins]]<br />[[Ally Serigne]]<br />[[Kaeli Ware]]

*

| 2013

| 2015

| YAGP Nationals

*[https://www.instagram.com/p/DQ4tPVBki9E/?img_index=1 Soph's November 11, 2025 smartphone drop.]

*When Russian National Champion, head coach and owner of RG school in San Diego - Champion Rhythmics [https://www.instagram.com/mashaweitz/ "Murder" Masha Weitz (Маша Калужская)] tortured Sophia in her training, she was pregnant with her daugther Zoya. Many years later, Soph got her hands on Zoya during her training and had in strange ways her revenge. Soph [https://www.tiktok.com/@_sophialucia/video/7488844122158026014 is unsympathetic to stretch pains, because "Murdery" Masha tortured her two hours a day], therefore she never had injuries by that flexibility. - Yea, it's like my dad beat me every day and did'nt harm me on the long run. So it's ok I beat my son now. - Anyways, one point taken; competition and professional dancing is not for the snivelers. Deal with it or seek for something else. <ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf7NtxTP-uD/ Sophia*s IG Zoya]</ref> Still today some of Soph's students call her technique class torture hour. But against her own boyfriend she shows always some mercy and encouragement.<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb_A7eXKriU/?hl=en Sophia's IG teaching her bf turns]</ref> - "You did good, baby!" - [https://www.instagram.com/p/DKNMdLSJrV2/ See what we mean]. If one of her students would be; two blocks, sitting on the leg and it's done. [https://youtu.be/GlWffeKH6EY?t=164 Or the Ip Man way ...]

*[http://www.instagram.com/sophialucia5678/ Instagram (private - 1)]

*[http://www.instagram.com/sophiexlucia/ Instagram (private - 2)]