Draft:Sylvia Soumah

Sylvia Soumah was born and raised in Cincinnati Ohio, she moved to Washington DC in 1985. She began falling in love with dance and building her career in dance in Washington DC. In Cincinnati she attended a performing arts high school, and upon graduation, she worked at a German restaurant, at the age of 20, she left for Washington D.C. While waitressing in Adams Morgan, she began dancing, initially dancing mostly modern and jazz. She talked about how she loved African styles of dance initially because the classes were a friendly place for her to bring her child, then instantly became hooked and shifted her focus. She first performed at DanceAfrica in 1992. Her love for African dance inspires her to travel to Guinea. She speaks about how she never expected her career to take off, at first her dances focused on issues that were very personal to her. She then started a youth academy. Sylvia is also the founder and Artistic Director of Coyaba Dance Theater. She has studied, performed, and taught throughout the D.C.