Sonia Plumb

Sonia Plumb was born and raised in rural Vermont, moving to Hartford, Connecticut to attend Trinity College, where she received a BA in Theater & Dance. Upon graduating, Sonia traveled between Hartford and New York City, teaching, dancing, choreographing and lighting design for dance and theater while continuing to train. 

Her longtime mentor, dance partner and often guest choreographer, Douglas Boulivar (Stuttgart Ballet, Utah Repertory under Bill Evans, and a protege of Zena Rommett Floor Barre), opened doors for her to the New York dance scene and her eyes to international choreographers. She had additional ballet training from Jocelyn Lorenz and Marjorie Mussman. Creatively, her choreographic style has been heavily influenced by multiple intensives with Pilobolus, Mark Morris, Susan Marshall and the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. 

Ms. Plumb launched Sonia Plumb Dance Company (SPDC) as a nonprofit in 1991. As Artistic Director she has choreographed over 50+ dances and developed numerous programs ​​including: Moving Minds/Moving Bodies for children on the autism spectrum, a paid Apprentice Training Program for BIPOC and Hartford youth, a scholarship program for Hartford students age 7 & up, and arts integration residencies based on the Kennedy Center Model for Multiple Intelligences. She has created multiple arts-based learning programs for Hartford Public Schools through Hartford Performs and surrounding towns. Her vision has been supported by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, the Greater Hartford Arts Council, Connecticut Office of the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, The Mortensen Foundation, The Roberts Foundation, CT Humanities and the Ensworth Charitable Trust, to name a few.

Sonia was the first artist in residence at the University of St. Joseph (2012-2015). She has since been in residency at Ross Creek Centre for the Arts (Canada), MudHouse (Greece), and dansverkstaedid.is dance studio (Reykjavik, Iceland).

Committed to discovering where dance intersects with all of life’s offerings, she frequently collaborates with curators and educators during the research and development phase of her creative process. She has collaborated with professors from Wesleyan, Trinity College, UMass Amherst, University of Hartford and Connecticut College, and Capital Community College and internationally with the Curator of the Leonardo da Vinci collection at Windsor Castle, UK.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she successfully and safely premiered three full-length works, while also creating digital dances, webinars and podcasts. Sonia was the lead choreographer for The Bushnell Digital Local Arts project, which continues to gain accolades and views, inside and out. 

Her choreographic work has been showcased throughout the Northeast including: Pentacle Presents at The Garage, Philadelphia; Pentacle Fall Further XII at Dixon Place NYC; Stamford Arts Festival; A New Generation of Dance at SUNY Purchase; Southern Vermont Dance Festival; WaxWorks, Brooklyn, NY; Shared Space at Mark Morris Dance Group; Artists For World Peace, CT; 5×5 Dance Festival at the University of St. Joseph, The Ted Hershey Dance and Music Marathon, CT; New Dance/New Haven; Connecticut Choreographers’ Showcase; Arts & Ideas Local Stage, CT;, SoNo Arts Festival; OpSail New London; International Special Olympics, CT; First Night Hartford, CT; Arts on the Edge, CT; Artistic Dance Festival, MA; Off Center for the Dramatic Arts, VT; White Mountain Dance Festival, MA; Northeast Choreographers’ Showcase, CT; Real Art Ways CT Showcase; and Columns Dance and Wellness Center Festival, CT.

Sonia has thrice received the Connecticut Office of the Arts Fellowship for Artistic Excellence, a Surdna National Teaching Fellowship (2013), and was one of only nine artists nationwide to receive a Community Legacy Project (2015).

As a dance instructor, Sonia has taught at the nationally renowned Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts half day program, Nutmeg Ballet, Hartford Conservatory, Housatonic Community College, Connecticut Concert Ballet, the Trinity College Evening Dance Program and has been a guest artist at Miss Porters and Loomis Chaffee, to name a few. 

Believing a broader perspective is key to broadening horizons, Sonia has collaborated internationally with dance, music, digital and visual artists from the UK, Greece, Spain and Italy. 

Life is fluid. During the Vermont Floods of 2023 Sonia made the decision to return to Vermont to assist her aging parents. She continues her commitment to reach underserved audiences, focus on climate change initiatives whilst creating new dances.  

In 2024 Sonia joined the Board of The Junction Dance Festival and the Vermont Dance Alliance, both organizations dedicated to fostering creativity and expression in the world of dance.

Artist statement: “I attribute my artistic style to a morphing of ideas, a constant seeking of, observing, learning, questioning and collaboration. I am a movement gatherer. My curiosity and thirst for knowledge leads me to work with educators, scientists, puppeteers, actors, musicians, singers, composers, videographers, photographers, digital artists, movers and dancers of diverse abilities. Within me is a never-ending desire for physical movement intertwined with the quiet stillness needed for process and reflection.”