Sophie is a dance artist and movement facilitator based in the West of Ireland. She has always sought to give word to thought through movement. Her expression of dance is an articulation of her lucid imagination and her strong belief in the human spirit, something that can be disarmed and united through creative output.

Sophie holds a BA(Hons) in Contemporary Dance from NSCD, UK (2014). Following her dance training she moved towards somatic movement education and completed her first YTT in 2015/16 at the Mathatitu Yoga Ashram which gradually led her towards teaching and hosting events and workshops in Leeds.

From 2016 onwards Sophie created and performed works with theatre companies in the UK (Company of Others) and Poland (Song of the Goat/Piesn Kozla) as well as independently with local artists in Yorkshire including the widely anthologised Manchester-based poet Shamshad Khan which was commissioned by BooksUpNorth and Kala Sangam Arts Centre.

In between performance work, Sophie lead and assisted local community dance projects with Yorkshire Dance, Kala Sangam Arts Centre, and OpenSource Arts, developing a curiousity in working more in community based dance practices.

In 2021/22 following her return to live in Ireland, Sophie participated in Ireland's first Inclusive Dance Training programme (IDC) with the Firkin Crane and University College Cork. During this year of training she received mentoring from Adam Benjamin (Co-founder of CandoCo Dance Company) with thanks to support from Glór Theatre and the Irish Arts Council Agility Award.

In 2023, she completed an Advanced Embodied Yoga Facilitator training with Samavesa Yoga School, and in 2024 she is working with Joan Davis on her final offering, 'Essence.' Audiences will be invited to join for sharings throughout 2024. More information on this can be found here.

As an artist, Sophie has a keen interest in interdisciplinary collaboration. Since moving to Clare, she has been collaborating with local artists Stephanie Keane, a Seán nós and percussive dancer, and Bonnie Boyle, a filmmaker and creative producer. Together they're engaged in ongoing artistic inquiry exploring cross-disciplinary collaboration. Their work includes film, live performance and sound.

Upcoming Residencies:

- Open Futures programme with Lightmoves Festival (Limerkck) in collaboration with Cork-based Artist Billy Kemp.

- Selected artist for North West Dance Residency Programme: 2-week residency at Áras Éanna, Inis Oírr, December 2024.

For more information or to book a call or discuss a workshop, please contact: hutchdanceire@gmail.com