Sophia Stoller, artistic director of Iris Company, is a choreographer, dancer, dance educator, and video editor based in Los Angeles, CA. Sophia has presented choreography in festivals and venues in Southern California, Israel, and Bali, including LA Phil's Noon to Midnight at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, REDCAT, Electric Lodge, Highways, the Fowler Museum, SoCal Dance Invitational, and Bootleg Theater. She was recently commissioned by Yorke Dance Project to create a piece for the company's 20th Anniversary Tour. The work premiered in 2019 and was performed at the Royal Opera House and other venues around the UK. Sophia founded Iris Company in 2016 with the creation and production of The Other Side, an immersive dance theater performance exploring classism and human resilience. The Other Side had a sold out run at Gramercy Studios in May 2017.
Sophia often brings together artists of different mediums to create interdisciplinary work, believing deeply in the power of collaboration. She has additionally choreographed a number of projects for the camera, including the short narrative film You and the Moth, Jarell Perry’s music video, Relapse, and Sony’s IFA Berlin 2016 presentation.
Sophia has edited experimental short films that have been screened in film festivals across the country. Most recently, IMA IMA, directed by Marina Magalhaes, was selected to be a part of the LA Dance Shorts Festival and The 4th Annual N.C. Triad Choreography Showcase: An Evening of Dance on Film.
Sophia participated in the HOTHOUSE Choreographic Residency in 2015, was a recipient of the PDG Space Grant in 2016, and was one of three choreographers selected to be part of the 2017 Cohan Collective residency. She holds an MFA in Choreography from California Institute of the Arts, a BA in World Arts and Cultures/Dance and a BA in Psychology from UCLA.
photo: Peter Amodeo Gould
Sophia spent ten months living in Israel, dancing full time in an apprenticeship program with Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, where she studied and performed KCDC repertoire, choreographed by Rami Be’er and directed by Mika Webber. During her time in Israel, she additionally studied the repertoire of Batsheva Dance Company, Inbal Pinto, and Vertigo Dance Company, and performed the repertoire of Cullberg Ballet including excerpts of Swan Lake and Giselle choreographed by Mats Ek, excerpts of Monger choreographed by Barak Marshall, and an original work choreographed by Sharon Visvaser. In Southern California, Sophia has performed with Nickerson-Rossi Dance, Union Project Dance Company, Dance Aegis, and Soul Lab Dance Project.
Sophia has taught dance technique and composition at CalArts, YWCA Santa Monica/Westide, Scripps College (guest teacher), CMDC, California School of the Arts - San Gabriel Valley, Gabriella Charter School, and The Gabriella Foundation's Everybody Dance program. She is currently a full-time faculty member at Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences.
photo: Jane Bear