Sonia McLain- Dancer, Teacher

Photo by Rachel Mascari

Sonia Heitz grew up in Livingston, Montana where at age seven she began dancing at the Yellowstone Ballet Company (YBC). She performed in many YBC productions during her youth, including the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Giselle, Hansel & Gretel, and the Elves and the Shoemaker. At frequent opportunities, she participated in the summer intensives hosted by YBC and attended Montana Dance Arts Association (MDAA) intensives. With a desire to meet more dancers and gain more experience, she additionally took lyrical, jazz, tap, and ballet classes at Main Street Dance Theater (now Bozeman Dance Academy) and performed in their spring recitals, which is where she met many of the lovely dancers who are now RDE company members! She continued her dance journey with the University of Montana dance program, where she took ballet and jazz classes whilst performing in the spring productions. She became an RDE company member in 2017 upon her return to Bozeman. She has since performed in numerous RDE productions and collaborations, including Vivaldi & Ranges, 2018 TedX, IndepenDance, Songs & Dances of Love, Rachmaninov & Plutonia, 2022 Sparkle Spectacular, and the Metal & Mozart Project Pitch. She has been teaching Beginning Ballet for adults since 2023 and looks forward to continuing her teaching and performing journey with RDE. In her spare time, she can be found with her two adorable daughters, who she hopes will also one day be dancers!