Sofia Boutella

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Sofia Boutella, (born April 3, 1982 in Bab El Oued, Alger, Algeria) is a dancer, mainly hip-hop and street dance, known from Nike Women advertising.

[edit] Biography

The daughter of Algerian singer, songwriter and jazz musician Safy Boutella, she was born in the Bab El Oued district of Alger. She started classical dance education at the age of 5 and at the age of 10 in 1992 she left Algeria with her family, and moved to France where she started rhythmic gymnastics, and joined the French national team for the Olympics at the age of 18.

Meanwhile, she had taken up Hip Hop and street dance, and was part of a group called the Vagabond Crew, which won the World Championship HipHop battle in 2006. She also participated in a group called "Chiene de Vie and Aphrodites, created by Momo from the Vagabond Crew. Sofia is graduate of Berklee College of Music.

At the same time, she had been rehearsing since the age of 17 with Blanca Li, a choreographer known for working with Daft Punk. She has danced in several film and TV appearances, as well as commercials.

She has also danced with singer Madonna in the Confessions Tour. Her biggest number is to the song Isaac where she does gravity defying moves and escapes from a metal bar cage.

Her real breakthrough arrived in 2006, when she was picked for the Jamie King choreography for Nike, as a role model of femininity and Hip Hop. This was a major boost in her career, and led to more work alongside stars like Madonna, Jamiroquai and Rihanna.