Early life and education Tayeh was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of a
Lebanese mother and
Palestinian father. She has two sisters and one half-brother. Tayeh started dancing at age 15 when she began frequenting hip-hop and house dance parties with her sister. She started studying ballet and modern dance—as a subject—at age 17 when she was a student at
Henry Ford Community College. Although Tayeh was a freestyle
house dancer in her youth, she didn't take any formal dance classes until she was 18 and a student at
Wayne State University. Before starting her training, she was denied by six dance studios who wouldn't let her take classes because they felt she was too old. In addition to her classes, Tayeh was a member of Counter Groove dance companies. During her time at Wayne State, Tayeh drew on dance history, anatomy, and performance to develop a style that is built on core strength, aggressive partner interaction, quirky, and stylized movements. She graduated Wayne State in 2002 with a
bachelor's degree in Dance.
Dance career and mainstream exposure Since gaining mainstream exposure, Tayeh has choreographed tours and/or live events for Madonna, Florence and the Machine, Kylie Minogue,
Kerli, and
Miley Cyrus. In 2010, she choreographed
indie singer
Lucy Schwartz' music video "Graveyard". Tayeh choreographed the rock musical
The Last Goodbye which is based on
Romeo and Juliet and set to a soundtrack of music by
Jeff Buckley. It premiered in 2010, but a revised version of the show with a new cast opened in September 2013 at the
Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California. In 2011, she choreographed
San Jose Repertory Theatre's production of
Spring Awakening. It premiered February 24 with
So You Think You Can Dance alumnus Cole Horibe playing the lead role. In 2015
Martha Graham Dance Company commissioned a new work by Sonya Tayeh which she set to the music of
Meredith Monk. It premiered in the company's New York season at The Joyce, Spring 2015 and has been performed by the company while on tour. Sonya earned a Tony award for her choreography of the Broadway musical, "Moulin Rouge".
Choreography for So You Think You Can Dance Due to a shoulder injury, Mitchell Kelly was barred from performing in his routine. He was replaced for the evening by season 7's Robert Roldan and was automatically in danger of going home.
Teaching Tayeh is a faculty member at the Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles. She has also taught classes at The Hip Drop Dance Complex, Monsters of Contemporary, 24 Seven Dance, Hall of Fame Dance Challenge,
Loyola Marymount University, NUVO, and Spotlight Dance Works. ==Style and influences==