Choreographer, Performer, Visual Artist
Elena Vertegel is a multidisciplinary artist from Ukraine, now based in Lisbon. Her dynamic career reflects a profound passion for movement, performance, and the power of interdisciplinary collaboration.
Her artistic journey began with early training in both art and dance from 1995 to 2003. To broaden her understanding of movement and theatre, Elena joined the “American Circus” group in Italy. Upon returning to Ukraine, she refined her skills further through collaboration with the dance company “Totem Group,” where she completed a two-year educational program under the guidance of artistic director Kristina Shishkareva in 2014.
Elena has since gained international recognition, working with choreographers such as Thomas Metler, Jorge Jauregui Allue, Alexandra Morales, Mate Meszaros, Erez Zohar, and Gregor Runge. In 2017, she moved to Portugal to continue her studies at the “Performact” school, focusing on performance, lighting, and dramaturgy. Following her studies, she assisted to Rob Hayden in workshops at the Ultima Vez studio and performed with Claire Hubert at P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels, Belgium.
During this period, Elena was invited by the Ukrainian Dance Theatre in Kyiv to create and stage a dance performance titled Rescue of Archon, featuring six dancers.
Since 2019, she has engaged in collaborative projects with Belgian artist Maeva Lambert, with their most recent work, FIXE, premiering at Theatro do Bairro in Lisbon in the spring of 2023.
Throughout her career, several key experiences have profoundly shaped Elena’s artistic approach and vision, including:
- Psychosomatic research with Thomas Metler in Camedo, Switzerland
- A creation process with residents of APECI (Center for Handicapped People) in TorresVedras, Portugal
- Research in voice and movement within the project The World is Sound in Berlin, Germany
- An interactive performance as part of Cultural Dialogues at the Goethe-Institut in Bremen,Germany
- Artistic research on the mental-physical connection with Vertigo Dance Company in Israel
Currently, Elena is expanding her artistic practice through explorations in voice, video, and visual art. She is a member of the Lawaai Collective based in Brussels, Belgium, and is developing her new solo creation and art installation, FIXE IT.