Hi there! I am Sofia, 24-year-old student from Portugal. Somehow, I have always been connected to this fantastic world of performance, acrobatics and shows. I could say everything started in 2005, but that was just the first time I felt the need to open my horizons…
In 2005 a doctor decided that I had to leave the activity, I had to find some new inspiration. And that was when I got into theatre.
One year later, I was applying for Chapito – Lisbon’s Professional School of Arts and Crafts, for a 3-year full-time course in Circus and Performing Arts. From 9 am to 6 pm, every day for 3 years, I did everything I could have possibly imagined to be done in a circus environment! I specialized in aerial trapeze but was trained to keep using dance and theatre as powerful tools to create the best shows every year.
Even though this was one of the most rewarding experiances I have had in life, my goal was still to become an actress! Therefore, I moved then to London to study theatre at London International School of Performing Arts and meanwhile I explored a new field as a model for photography,sculpture and painting. This was also when I realised I had the need to work in the industry for the rest of my life and in order to achieve this long-term connection I got in an Entertainment and Events Management higher degree in Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies, back in portugal. Among my family, this was perhaps the most well-supported step I made as a student!
I worked as an entertainer in some short-term eventsas well as in a Resort in madeira Island, coordinated children’s activities at Kidzania and also had some experiences working in the production team of several festivals. I am now with Contraband as an intern, for the next 3 months, as I finish my degree.
The best thing I have found about the performing arts is that you can be whoever you want to be, work in a wide variety of environments and get to meet the most creative and interesting people out there! And although I probably won’t keep working as a full-time performer in a full-time basis, my background gave me a great knowledge so I am now more able to put in practice all there is to be done when organising events and productions in various fields.
I am still amazed and always looking for an opportunity to witness the work of companies like Cirque du soleil and Pilobolus, which I believe to be the most memorable shows I have seen so far!