Alumnus Sofia Carreras' Career A Dream Come True Despite Cancer Diagnosis

Choreographer Sofia Carreras of Redlands (Photo courtesy of Sofia Carreras)

MFA Alumnus Sofia Carreras has shared the stage with Mikhail Baryshinikov and trained with the Sacramento Ballet, Capitol City Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. 

As a choreographer, Carreras has had work performed at New York's Lincoln Center and a far away as Varna, Bulgaria.

“I didn’t think, ‘I want to be a Prima Ballerina,’ like every other little girl,” she says. “I thought ‘I want to have a ballet school.’ Well now I’m a Professor of Dance at Riverside City College and I have a dance company, so that’s close enough to a dream come true.

In 2006, Carreras was five months into the pregnancy with her now 11 year-old son, Sebastian, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After five surgeries, nine months of chemotherapy and weeks of radiation, plus giving birth, Carreras was declared cancer free.

“It was a real battle,” says Carreras. “I was cancer free for about almost 10 years and a year and a half ago, the breast cancer returned, having metastasized into the bones. I am currently once again battling with everything I’ve got. I am this time without a possible cure, but in treatment for maintenance.”

At 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 11, Carreras and her Intersect Dance Theatre will be collaborating with Sue Roginski and her company, counterpoint/shift, in “Outside the Box,” a contemporary dance concert at The Box in downtown Riverside.