Sophia Bielik

Sophia Bielik (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States) moved to Japan when she was two years old and started ballet at the age of three at her parents' studio Ballet Studio GEM. She participated in ballet competitions from the age of nine and won first place in the Japan Grand Prix International Ballet Competition in 2017. Following this competition, Sophia was offered full scholarships from the John Cranko School, Canada's National Ballet school and The School of Hamburg Ballet. In 2019, she received the opportunity to attend the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg where she studied for two years under Ludmila Kovaleva. She returned to Japan in 2021 to continue her professional training at Ballet Studio GEM and got an offer from Canada's National Ballet School that same year. During her training at Canada’s National Ballet school, Sophia studied under the directorship of Mavis Staines. She also had the opportunity to work with James Kudelka and to perform the lead role in George Balanchine’s Serenade.

Sophia: “I'm thrilled to be joining Dutch National Ballet’s Junior Company and I am grateful for the incredible opportunity to work with such a phenomenal organization. I look forward to collaborating with the company's talented choreographers, dancers, and directors, and to growing further as an artist through the diverse repertoire and world-class training. This is a dream come true, and I can't wait to see what the future holds as I embark on this exciting new chapter in my dance career.”