Mariia Sotnikova
Youth Program – Contemporary
Mariia Sotnikova is a dancer, choreographer, teacher from Vladivostok, Russia. For 15 years, she danced professionally with KAURI, a contemporary dance company based in her hometown. During her time with KAURI, Mariia became a staff teacher and ahead of the youth and teens division at their school, teaching contemporary, jazz and contact improvisation to both: adults and children. Her work has been performed in Russia, China (Beijing, Dalian, Shanghai) and the US. In 2012, Mariia was honored with an International Choreographer Residency from the American Dance Festival (ADF), where she not only presented her own work but also danced for ADF’s William Forsythe Project.
Since 2015, Mariia worked with many professional dance companies and choreographers throughout the Bay Area. Some of them are Palanza Dance Company, Kinetech Arts, Alafia Dance Ensemble, TILTshift dance collective. She is also the founder and artistic director of Pivot Point Dance Company. Currently, Mariia is on faculty at Western Ballet (Mountain View), Xiaopei Chinese Dance School (Pleasanton), and Bollynaach Dance Company (Fremont, Pleasanton). Mariia is also a certified group fitness instructor by the American Council of Exercise (ACE) since 2017.