Maya Soto
Interim Performing Arts Chair and Dance Teaching Faculty
Maya Soto is a choreographer, performer and dance educator with 20 years of experience in the field. Truly a Pacific Northwest artist, Maya is originally from the Portland area and has been calling Seattle home since 1999. Her vast body of work includes concert performance, movement installations, dance for theater and for film.
Maya has worked with many notable artists including Sean Curran, Michele Miller/Catapult Dance, Amy O’Neal, KT Neihoff, Ellie Sandstrom, and Amii LeGendre. She has created numerous evening length works and has been featured in most major dance festivals in the Northwest. In 2014, she was honored with the Velocity Dance Champion Award for significant contribution to Seattle dance.
As a choreographer, Maya's work has been supported by 4Culture, Office of Arts & Culture, the James Ray Residency Grant and Allied Arts Foundation. Festival commissions include Northwest New Works, Conduit's Dance+ Festival, Seattle International Dance Festival, Juan De Fuca Festival of the Arts, Pacific Dance Makers, SITEWORKS, and Arts in Nature Festival.
Passionate about arts education, Maya was on faculty at Velocity Dance Center for 10 years and served 5 years as Board President of Dance Educators Association of Washington. An experienced arts advocate, She has served on the Superintendent’s Council for the Arts (Highline School District), OSPI’s Arts Learning Standards Team, and the School Leadership Team (Arts & Academics Academy).
Maya brings an open-hearted energetic teaching style that embraces all people. She has taught at schools and studios including Cornish College of the Arts, Bellevue College, Arts and Academics Academy/Highline School District, Tacoma School of the Arts, Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, Creative Dance Center and Strictly Seattle Summer Intensive. She has worked extensively in the public school system as both a certified dance specialist and a teaching artist. Additionally, Maya has trained and taught through outreach programs for the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), Seattle Theater Group, and Disney Musicals in Schools. Maya holds a BFA in Dance from Cornish College of the Arts and a WA State Professional Teaching Certificate.
