Lia de Carvalho Robatto, outstanding director, choreographer, dancer and academic professor. Long-time soloist and assistant of Yanka Rudzka. In 1949 she began to study classical ballet at the City School of Ballet of São Paulo and the Academy of Ballet of Alina Biernacka. In 1952, she started dancing classes with Polish choreographer Yanka Rudzka, and in 1962 she gained dance degree at the Federal University of Salvador de Bahia. Within the framework of the Theater School, UFBA she founded an experimental dance group (GED) with which she produced most of her professional works. Between 1999 and 2004, she was a curator at the Cultural Market (Salvador) and in 2003-2006 she was the organizer and pedagogue of choreographers of Bahia workshops. In 2009 she was awarded honorary citizenship of Salvador. Since 1998 Lia is the director of the social project Axé Capoeira. In 2010 she was the chairman of the Bahia State Culture Council.