Sophie Rebecca

Sophie Rebecca
Born1980 or 1981
Alma materRoyal Academy of Dance
OccupationBallet dancer

Sophie Rebecca (born 1980 or 1981) is an English ballet dancer who was the first openly transgender person to train on the Royal Academy of Dance's courses for female dancers. The academy policies were changed in 2013, and no longer require that students taking these courses must have been born female.[1][2][3]

Early life

Rebecca was inspired to become a dancer while watching Blue Peter at the age of four or five, where she saw dancers performing as the sweets in The Nutcracker.[2]

Her father passed away when she was young. Upon coming out privately in the 1990s, her mother was supportive of her gender identity.[2]

Dance

Rebecca first began learning to dance at the age of 17, when she learned the traditional male dance roles. However, she was expelled when the instructor learned of her gender identity.[3]

Rebecca first began taking female ballet courses at the Royal Academy of Dance in 2013, when the academy changed its previous policy that only women assigned female at birth could take the courses. Though she did not have plans to make a career out of ballet, she trained for her 'intermediate foundation' qualification, a ballet skill certification.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Styles, Rhyannon (10 February 2016). "Why we should applaud the trans ballet dancer". Elle. Archived from the original on 8 May 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Norman, Neil (3 October 2016). "Sophie Rebecca: 'It's unlikely I will be a ballerina, but not because I'm transgender' - Interviews - The Stage". The Stage. Archived from the original on 15 September 2019.
  3. 1 2 Malvern, Jack (4 February 2016). "A giant leap for transgender dancers". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 17 October 2025. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
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