Correction: This story has been updated to reflect Carreras’ husband’s name as Brendan, not Sebastian.

By Stephanie Arenas

Riverside City College dance instructor Sofia Carreras died April 24 after her long battle with breast cancer.

Carreras was born March 24, 1964 in Igualada, Spain. At 14, she and her family moved to Sacramento, where she practiced ballet.

In 2002, Carreras accepted a position as a dance instructor at Riverside City College.

“She was an amazing colleague, friend, teacher, and mentor to so many RCC Dance students,” RCC President Gregory Anderson said. “She also had a major impact on legions of dance students throughout Southern California and around the world.”

Carreras was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006 during her pregnancy with her son Sebastian.

Carreras did not let her diagnosis stop her from achieving her dreams. She founded the dance company Intersect Dance Theatre in 2011 alongside her colleague Mark Haines. 

“I thought I [wanted] to have a ballet school,” Carreras said in an interview with The Press-Enterprise in 2018. “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.”

Carreras resided in Redlands with her husband, son and daughter.

“Her long battle with breast cancer has come to an end,” an RCC Dance Facebook post reads. “But her reach as an artist and educator will live on through all who worked, danced, loved and laughed by her side.” 

Carreras is survived by her husband Brendan, daughter Roya and son Sebastian. 

“Future events will honor the legacy of Sofia, and we will announce them as information becomes available,” Anderson said.