About Us
Who We Are
Sonder Dance Theatre
We believe in engaging and immersing audiences in performance made to discover and represent the untold stories of those around us.
An emerging Contemporary Dance Theatre Company based in Luton, Bedfordshire.
Co-Directors: Sophie O'Brien & Lauren Segal
Sophie and Lauren both met through a dancer’s development project at Motus Dance Festival, Milton Keynes in 2016 whilst working with choreographer Yael Flexer.
When Sophie joined Next Generation Youth Theatre’s dance Company in 2017 in Luton they both performed together locally and from there formed Sonder Dance Theatre in 2018.
(Photo: Neil Hannam)
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Lauren Segal
Co-Director, Choreographer, Performer
Lauren is a Freelance Dance Artist from Luton and began her professional dance training at Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Leeds. In 2009 she continued her studies at University of Surrey and graduated in 2012 with a First class BA (hons) in Dance and Culture. In pursuit of her Master’s degree at University of Chichester, Lauren performed with Mapdance Company in their 2013 UK Tour and on completion, secured jobs performing for Sheron Wray, Drake Music and assisting Gary Clarke with Anjali Dance Company in the creation of 'Genius'.
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In February 2014 Lauren worked with Rosemary Lee as part of her professional team leading 'Under the Vaulted Sky', a 6 month inter-generational community project culminating in performances with a 100-strong community cast for IF Festival Milton Keynes in July that year. This inspired Lauren to continue to facilitate community projects which she pursues now with Next Generation Youth Theatre (NGYT) in Luton.
Lauren has danced in projects for Yael Flexer, Motus Dance MK, Roswitha Chesher, Victoria Hunter, Aya Kobayashi, Luke Birch & H Patten.
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Lauren has worked as an Assistant to the Directors of Tangled Feet, Mimbre and NGYT for the Imagine Luton Festivals in 2017 and 2018. Lauren has most recently collaborated with German artist Markus Hansen.
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Lauren has been teaching dance with NGYT since September 2014 and leads a range of the groups. Lauren is currently the Assistant Director for the NGYT Theatre Company and assists and performs for NGYT's Dance Company.
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For outreach education work Lauren also delivers NGYT curriculum, club and enrichment sessions in several primary schools across Luton.
(Photo: Snickerty Feet Photography)
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Sophie O'Brien
Co-Director, Choreographer, Performer
Graduating from University of Bedfordshire with a First Class degree in 2017, Sophie is a community freelance dance artist working across Bedfordshire in several schools and dance clubs.
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Alongside this, Sophie has danced as part of NGYT Dance Company in Luton since 2017 where she performs locally with the company.
Sophie also co-ordinates and leads 1Step Youth Dance Platforms across Bedfordshire and facilitated Luton's first 1Step platform in 2018.
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Sophie has worked with dance artists such as Helen Parlor, Yael Flexer, Matthew Sandiford, Adrian Look and Orbit Dance Company.
(Photo: Dance Inc, NRH Photography)