Sophia “Sosa” Laurio is a Filipina interdisciplinary artist residing in the unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil Waututh Nations, also known as Vancouver, Canada. With a heavy focus on dance and its multiple forms, Sophia is a versatile movement artist that explores a wide variety of dance styles like Hip Hop, House, Waacking, Locking, Dancehall, Afro-Dancehall and Contemporary dance. She has trained, competed and worked on prestige platforms both locally and internationally. Over the last 10 years, Sophia has been featured at stages like Hip Hop International, World of Dance, Disney, Raw Artists Emerge-Los Angeles, Manila Fringe Festival, the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, Dancing on the Edge, Vancouver Fringe Festival, Vancouver Street Dance Festival, etc.

Sophia is a passionate artist who highly respects the origins and foundations of Hip Hop, hence why she continues to visit New York City to immerse herself in the birthplace of the culture and seek mentorship from MOPTOP & Elite Force Crew, who are the pioneers and innovators of Hip Hop dance. Inspired by Hip Hop’s famous mottos like “Each one, teach one” and “Love, Peace, Unity and Having fun”, Sophia started her very own non-profit organization Barangay Project Society dedicated to promote inclusivity, diversity, culture and safety to all youths and marginalized communities locally and internationally. Her non-profit organization, Barangay Project Society offers free dance classes, mentorships, gathering events for the community, as well as providing employment to local BIPOC artists in Vancouver, BC.

Sophia’s current art practice explores dance, filmmaking, writing and creative directing. In 2022, Sophia premiered her very first commissioned film MALETA, a 12-minute short story that revolves around the great immigrant experience from a lens of her 13-yr old self, told through a series of imagery, movement and sound. MALETA premiered at the 2022 Festival of Recorded Movement at the SFU School for the Contemporary Arts theater. In the future, Sophia hopes to create impactful work in the Theater and Film world either as a performer or the creative director/producer.