Sonya Smith

​San Francisco, CA

Sonya is a Born to Fly Provider for Bungee.

Trainer

Sonya Smith
​Sonya Smith is the first to complete the Aerial Track of the MFA in Dance from the University of Colorado Boulder, publishing her contributions to the growing body of academic writing centered on Aerial Dance. A scientific artist, Smith has accumulated somatic information from Alexander Technique, Kinesiology, and athletic training as well as a certificate in Pilates and a Gyrokinesis Apprenticeship. Smith’s curiosity about the body and effective training methods for aerial and ground-based dancing is insatiable. She combines a passion for highly physical dancing and a quirky theatricality both on the ground and in the air, weaving together Contact Improvisation, bungee and harnesses, lyra, and a variety of invented aerial apparatus. Smith spent a decade studying and dancing in with Joanna Haigood/Zaccho Dance Theatre, Project Bandaloop, Jo Kreiter/Flyaway Productions, Sara Shelton Mann, Eat Cake Productions, and Terry Sendgraff before returning to academia where she has continued to earn residencies and produce work in the San Francisco Bay Area and around the country.

Mentorship Specialties
  • Choreography and performance for aerial dance
  • Anatomy, kinesiology, and somatics for aerialists
  • Apparatus focus:  aerial hoop, bungee

About

 Sonya Smith is an aerial and dance artist, teacher and researcher. The first to earn an MFA with an emphasis on Aerial Dance her bungee work has taken her across the country. With over 15 years teaching Pilates and functional movement, all her teaching is a balance between the creative and the scientific. This training will equip artists, enthusiasts and teachers with a technical understanding of bungee dance and its creative potential through clear articulation of pedagogy, biomechanical efficiency and safe practices.
 
Bungee is enjoying a new surge in popularity amongst fitness enthusiasts, however creative aerial bungee experiments have been around since at least the 1980’s. This course has been designed with 15 hours of practical skill building for both immersion and teacher training students. The teacher training adds an additional 15 hours of technical information about gear, spotting and safety techniques, thoughtful skill progressions for working with a variety of skill levels, and a deeper exploration of strength needs for harness work.