Artistic Staff

Elisa Schroth

Artistic Director

Elisa Schroth received her BFA from the Belhaven College Dance Program and the Hartford Conservatory. She graduated from the Hartford Conservatory with a double major in Dance Performance and Pedagogy. Elisa danced professionally for Ballet Mississippi and Sonia Plumb Dance Company. Elisa is an American Ballet Theater certified instructor in all levels. In 2005 Elisa founded Ekklesia School of Ballet and in 2020 she refounded Ekklesia Contemporary Ballet (ECB) as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and a recognized New Christian Community of The Episcopal Church. Elisa has choreographed many works that align with the company’s mission to strengthen human connections while drawing attention to social injustices such as poverty, inequality and human suffering. In 2021, her work Body and Land received a Creation Care Grant from The Episcopal Church. Body and Land toured around Connecticut as a way to use dance as a vehicle for churches and communities to join hands in addressing climate change. In 2022, Elisa collaborated with internationally recognized composer Ameen Mokdad and Connecticut-based string ensemble Cuatro Puntos. Elisa set choreography on the company for 11 tracks of Mokdad’s album, The Curve. The Curve had a successful sold-out tour in the Spring of 2023 and will continue to tour in the 2023-2024 season. Elisa has been invited to present her works on the Psalms at Yale Divinity School and Duke Divinity School. Elisa's longest running work, her original theatrical ballet, Ahavah, explores dance and theology, and has attracted over 1,000 audience members every year for 18 years.