Elena Calvo-Gonzalez served as General Coordinator of the European School of Ballet since 2019 and was appointed School Manager in January 2021. She serves as a liaison between families, students and administrative/artistic teams.
Trained as a Social Anthropologist (MA University of Edinburgh, PhD University of Manchester), Elena has long been interested in how local cultures influence how people give meaning to their lives.
During her career as a Professor at the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil, she focused her research, amongst other themes, on understanding the everyday experience of people living with certain medical conditions such as sickle cell anaemia or high blood pressure. She has also published extensively on issues of racial and gender diversity, both within and outside medical contexts. Her research practice alongside patients, their families, and medical professionals led her to develop a methodology to creatively use anthropological insights to help people craft strategies for better living.
Alongside her academic career, she trained in Afro-Brazilian and Orixás dance, helping her to understand how history, culture and movement featured in people’s lives. Her interest in movement and body work also led her to become a certified Gyrotonic® trainer.