Sonia Byrnes

Photo: Jaime Gamez.

Sonia K. Byrnes (formerly Sonia Jones) was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where she trained with Carolyn Trythall, Shari Vegso-Wilson, and Viktor Yeliohin and guest teachers Susan Brooker, Franco De Vita, Raymond Lukens, Peter Pawlyshyn, Gay Porter-Speer, Brunilda Ruiz, and Paul Sutherland. She earned highly commended marks as a student and teacher of the Cecchetti Method of Classical Ballet and performed classical and contemporary repertoire with Ballet Theatre of Lancaster under the direction of Carolyn Trythall. Upon moving to New York City in 2009, she performed with Covenant Ballet Theatre, Long Island Ballet Theatre, Atmosphere Dance Company (Project Dance), and Saya Spring Dance Theater. She has 20 years of teaching experience, including the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, ABT Young Dancer Summer Workshop, Covenant Ballet Academy, Dance Theatre of Harlem Dancing through Barriers, Harlem School of the Arts, Huntington Center for Performing Arts, Next Level Generation (NYG), and Lancaster School of Ballet. Her children’s choreography has been featured in performances by the ABT JKO School, Covenant Ballet Theatre, Long Island Ballet Theatre, and Ballet Theatre of Lancaster. She has taught private students who have performed on Broadway and in regional theater. Byrnes was the Student Examinations Coordinator and Manager for the ABT Certified Teachers part-time in 2015 and full-time in 2018, under the direction of Franco De Vita and Raymond Lukens (2015-2016) and Cynthia Harvey (2016-2022). She joined the ABT/NYU Master’s Program as an instructor in 2020 under the direction of Harriet Clark. In 2022, she was appointed Executive Director of Covenant Ballet Theatre of Brooklyn (CBT), with Artistic Director and Founder Marla Hirokawa. She currently serves on the ABT NTC Artistic Board of Examiners for the ABT National Training Curriculum, the Advisory Board for Regeneration Arts (REGA Arts), and is on the founding board and leadership team for Times of Refreshing Christian Centre, New York Campus (TORCC NY).

Byrnes is fully certified in the ABT National Training Curriculum and has presented students for ABT Student Examinations. She holds an MA in Teaching Dance in Higher Education and the Professions with a concentration in ABT Pedagogy from New York University. She is a member of CORPS de Ballet International and the Cecchetti Council of America East Coast Committee. She and her husband reside in New Jersey.