Sonia St-Michel is a French Canadian dance artist. Her extensive travel experience and keen interest for world cultures led her to practice several ethnic dance forms in the past such as Latin social dance, Egyptian Belly dance and Mexican Folkdance. However, for the past 5 years, she has dedicated herself to the practice of Indian Classical Dance, specifically Odissi.

Sonia started to learn Bharata Natyam and Odissi in 2000 in Ottawa with teacher Anne-Marie Gaston. Soon after, seeking to specialize and intensify her training she decided to pursue Odissi and Kathak under the guidance of Guru Saveeta Sharma of Upasana the Spirit of Dance. After completing the fundamentals, Sonia began acquiring items of the Odissi repertoire and its performance.

In 2005 Sonia received the Shastri Indo-Canadian Arts Fellowship to study advanced Odissi in India for one year. In India, Sonia pursued advanced Odissi under Smt. Aloka Panikar, exponent of Guru Mayadhar Raut. She learnt basic Hindustani Vocals with Meeta Pandit of the Gwalior Gharana and she has acquired intermediate level Kathak under the tutelage of Kalpana Verma, a student of Pandit Birju Maharaj.

At present, having returned from India, Sonia is continuing her training in Kathak and Odissi under the direction of Guru Saveeta Sharma at Upasana the Spirit of Dance. Due to her acclaimed performances in India, Sonia is presently a member of Upasana’s dance company, Saveeta§Company.