Sosina Wogayehu - Biography
Sosina Wogayehu - BiographySosina was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1978. She started doing gymnastics at the age of 7, and was Ethiopian Gymnastics Champion at ages 9 and 11. She joined Circus Ethiopia in 1993, and toured the world for five years as an acrobat, contortionist and dancer, including performances at the Adelaide Festival, the Womad Festival in England, and a performance for the Queen of the Netherlands.
Sosina moved to Australia in 1998. In 1999 she completed a Diploma in Small Companies and Community Theatre at Swinburne University, including spending a month doing work experience with Australia’s flagship contemporary circus, Circus Oz, and participating in a Melbourne Women’s Circus community performance. She supported her studies and training with a job at Africako, where she was employed for her specialist Ethiopian hair braiding skills. Sometimes Sosina performed as a “hair busker”, braiding hair, adding colorful extensions and bright found objects and offering a free smile to the shoppers in Auckland St, St Kilda.
Sosina was fortunate to complete her diploma just as the Swinburne University National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) sought applications for their inaugural two-year diploma in circus arts. She was a successful applicant, and was one of its very first graduating students in 2001. While studying at NICA, she developed her world-class, solo, bouncing ball juggling act, and a ladder-balancing act. These acts, along with her stage presence, her contortion, her creativity, and her ability to work effectively in a collaborative creative environment led Circus Oz to offer her a position in their permanent performance ensemble in 2002.
She accepted, and premiered her professional bouncing ball juggling and contortion acts to great acclaim in the 2001 Sydney Season. Her first review, in The Australian, describes her contortion as “perfect, controlled and hypnotic” then continues “.... her juggling act, first with three balls and ending with nine or more. Who’d know? They cascade in a flash and blur like a broken string of pearls before she re-knots her body to make juggling just that much harder. She’s a gem”, while The New York Times described her juggling skills as “impossible undulations”. Sosina is now a Full Company Member of Circus Oz after five years in the ensemble and has served on the Board of Directors.
In addition to rave reviews, Sosina has received a number of awards since joining Circus Oz. In 2003 she was the first Australian ever to be invited to the annual Circus Princess Competition in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2004 she was a finalist for the Young Australian of the Year awards; and she was selected to feature on a poster for the Australia Day Council Australia Day Poster. In 2004/5 Sosina was awarded her Bachelor of Arts in Circus from NICA. In 2007 Sosina was nominated for Australian of the Year.
Now permanently based in Australia, Sosina maintains strong links with the local Ethiopian community, and when she’s not touring the world with Circus Oz, participates in community-based circus projects. Whilst at NICA she conducted a residency at Normanton in far North Queensland, and later in south Australia developing circus skills with a group of indigenous children and conducted performance workshops for the Footscray-based East African Women’s Project, and theatre workshops for newly arrived migrants and refugees.
Her dream is to to keep growing in her profession, be watched by millions of people on film and television, as well as making a positive difference for disadvantaged kids thoughout the world. From impoverished beginnings, Sosina believes that life is what you make of it. She is truly inspiring.
Names: Sosina Wogayehu
Home base: Melbourne, Australia
Height:1.52
Weight:49 kg
