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The FEDORA Team Welcomes You To This Opera and Dance Season!

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16 September 2026

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FEDORA's Activities

As we step into the 2026–2027 season, we're excited to introduce you to the people who make FEDORA happen: the team working behind the scenes to support artists and cultural institutions, grow our community, and bring our programmes, events, and initiatives to life.

Through our new series of team portraits, you'll get to know their career paths, their ties to the performing arts, what they're passionate about outside of work, and a few surprising details along the way.

Get to know the FEDORA team, and join us for the season ahead!



Edilia Gänz

Director
German & American

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Entrusted with this adventure back in 2013 by Jean-Yves Kaced, former Director of the AROP - The association of the Friends of the Paris National Opera / Former Commercial Director and Director of Development of the Paris National Opera, and the late Jérôme-François Zieseniss, former President of FEDORA, and today alongside Stéphane Argyropoulos, President of FEDORA, Edilia has led the organisation ever since, building bridges between creators and philanthropic enablers and bringing together people, ideas and resources to champion artistic innovation and help shape a vibrant, sustainable cultural future in Europe.

The path was clear early on. Growing up with ballet lessons and attending classical concerts with her family, she always knew she wanted to work in the cultural sector, and chose business studies to bring entrepreneurial thinking into the arts and help cultural organisations thrive, innovate and become more financially sustainable. A bachelor's in business administration at the University of Mannheim and a master's in marketing & creativity at ESCP Europe Business School followed, alongside internships in management consulting, including at Kearney, and volunteering for the Mannheimer Philharmoniker, where she supported communications, marketing and fundraising. Beyond FEDORA, she contribute to the field as a jury member, lecturer, mentor and author on arts philanthropy and cultural innovation. In 2019, Forbes named her one of Europe's most promising cultural managers, among its 30 Under 30 in Art & Culture and she has also been recognized by the European Commission’s #EUwomen4future campaign. In 2026 she was recognised on this inaugural edition of the “Choiseul Médias & Création”, which recognizes 40 under 40 decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and leaders who are helping shape the future of the cultural and creative industries.

That early passion for the performing arts still drives her today, as does the chance to work alongside passionate, dedicated people and help talented creators give wings to their ideas and inspire a better world through their work. Away from the office, she recharges through swimming, yoga and travel. In her eyes, FEDORA is above all a place of possibility, about seeing what could be, and building the bridges that connect creators with philanthropists, and culture with business, to bring ambitious artistic visions to life.



General Management


Kseniia Travnikova

Finance & Operations Manager
Russian

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Kseniia found her way into the cultural sector by chance. A meeting with the people behind the Belcanto Foundation in Moscow, and an instant love for their idea, led her to join at the very start of its story in 2014. Over six years, she grew alongside it, from events production and ticketing to digital marketing and, in her last two years, strategic development, all in the service of classical music concerts in atypical venues.

After a master's in Cultural Studies and Sociology at the Moscow Pedagogical University, she completed a double master's in Management of Cultural Assets and Activities (MaBAC), between ESCP in France and Ca' Foscari in Venice. It was at ESCP Paris that she discovered FEDORA, and she was drawn to its entrepreneurial spirit, its mission of supporting the performing arts and its international team.

Today, she makes sure everything runs smoothly on the operational, financial and administrative sides, happy to keep the structure moving in service of a mission she shares. Her years in classical music sparked a curiosity for the performing arts more broadly: her favourite operas are Russian, such as Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina, and she loves contemporary dance, from Akram Khan and Crystal Pite to Hofesh Shechter.

Away from the office, she enjoys exhibitions, hiking, learning new skills and time with family and friends. What she loves most about FEDORA is the team, and how each person brings a different personality and culture. For her, the FEDORA spirit is one of support: for the artists we serve, and for one another.



Elena Curcenco

Executive & Operations Trainee
French

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Elena is the newest member of the FEDORA team, joining us as Executive and Operations Assistant at the start of the 2026–2027 season. After studying Public Affairs at SciencesPo Paris, she worked as Corporate Philanthropy Officer at the Caisse des Dépôts, building a career in culture that has taken her from the Rome French Theatre to the Paris Philharmonie to FEDORA. The performing arts have long been part of her life: she played the piano and sang in a choir for almost ten years, and one of her recent highlights was Cavalli's La Calisto at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées last spring. 


Drawn to the idea of exploring philanthropy on an international scale, she found in FEDORA a project that echoes her vision of a renewed performing arts scene, and a team whose international outlook and drive she already admires. Away from the office, she is endlessly curious, always ready for an exhibition, a new artist to discover, a good book, or a new language and culture to explore. For her, one word captures FEDORA's spirit: connection, because FEDORA builds bridges between people, disciplines, institutions and countries.  




Philanthropy


Sofia Del Curto

Individual Philanthropy Coordinator
Italian

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Opera has been part of Sofia's life for as long as she can remember, a profound expression of the artistic heritage of her native Italy. Today, as Individual Philanthropy Coordinator at FEDORA. She takes care of our Individual Members, fostering strong and lasting relationships within our community of philanthropists, while highlighting the essential role each donor plays in protecting and renewing the opera and dance sector. She also coordinates and organises special events and exclusive experiences for our members, while promoting the visibility and dissemination of FEDORA’s activities, initiatives and opportunities, strengthening engagement with our community and encouraging continued support for FEDORA’s mission.

After studying Management (BA) and Business Strategies (MSc) at Università Cattolica in Milan, with a summer exchange at UC Berkeley, she turned fully to culture with a double master's in Management of Cultural Assets and Activities (MaBAC) between ESCP in Paris and Ca' Foscari in Venice, the same as her colleague Kseniia. Experience in public relations in Madrid and as an organisational analyst in Milan completed her path. It was the MaBAC that led her to FEDORA, drawn by the prospect of contributing to the innovation and protection of the performing arts.

Verdi holds a special place in her heart, with Nabucodonosor and La forza del destino among the works that move her most, while in dance she admires Mats Ek and Hofesh Shechter for their distinctive languages and the powerful emotions they convey through movement.

Away from the office, she travels, visits exhibitions and museums, attends concerts, walks in nature and in city centres, and swims. What she loves most about FEDORA is the mission behind its activities and the intercultural nature of its team. For her, the FEDORA spirit is experimentation: encouraging new ideas and exploring new ways of organising the work itself.



Aneta Klímová

Corporate Philanthropy Coordinator
Czech

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Aneta has always known that her place was in the cultural sector; she never really imagined anything else. Today, as Corporate Philanthropy Coordinator at FEDORA, she builds and nurtures our community, creating meaningful connections between Sponsors, Corporate Members, artists and institutions, organising inspiring events, and helping partners discover emerging artists and new creations.

Her path took her from Prague, where she studied Literature, Translation & Interpreting at Charles University, to Paris, where she completed a master's in European Affairs and Cultural Management at Sciences Po. Along the way, international experiences, including a stint at the European Commission's EACEA Agency with Creative Europe Media, confirmed her taste for working across borders.

Her love of the stage goes back to childhood. She danced for many years as a girl, and family outings to the National Theatre in Prague for ballet and opera left a lasting mark. It is no surprise that FEDORA, with its international outlook, its focus on opera and dance and its support for emerging artists, felt like a natural fit. What she loves most about it? Her colleagues, without hesitation.

Away from the office, she unwinds with a good book, a yoga session, a hike or a puzzle, and never turns down a trip back to Prague. Intensity is the thread that runs through it all: at FEDORA, people care deeply about what they do and bring energy, enthusiasm and everything they have to every project.



Innovation & Partnerships


Inès Robier

Transformation & Partnerships Coordinator
French

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Inès is a dancer at heart. Trained and performed with the dance company Compagnie Grenade, she carried her love of contemporary dance into a career in the cultural sector. Today, as Transformation & Partnerships Coordinator at FEDORA, she works to keep the performing arts connected to the challenges of our time, from sustainability and inclusion to digital transformation, bringing people and organisations together around shared values.

After a master's in Cultural Policy and Patronage at Sciences Po Aix in Aix-en-Provence, she worked in patronage and fundraising at the Ballet Preljocaj - Pavillon Noir, in ticketing at the Festival Off d'Avignon, and in philanthropy at the Royal Swedish Opera. In Stockholm, she discovered opera from an international perspective and realised how essential working across borders had become to her.

FEDORA brought together everything she cares about: opera and dance, a sector in evolution, and an international outlook. Working alongside its laureates has opened new horizons, from the immersive worlds of Hofesh Shechter, at the crossroads of dance and cinema, to the bold language of Sharon Eyal.

Away from the office, she hikes, climbs, photographs movement, and loses herself in cinema and French video games, with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 a recent favourite. But what she loves most about FEDORA is its team: spending time with her colleagues, in and out of work, motivates her every day. Their can-do spirit, she says, is what turns good ideas into reality.


Sttefany Becerra

Innovation & Cultural Network Coordinator
Colombian

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Sttefany knows first-hand what it takes to bring an artistic vision to life. Trained as an opera singer at Universidad EAFIT in Medellín, she lived the stage from the inside before turning to cultural management, with a clear view of the gap between artists' visions and the means to make them happen. Today, as Innovation & Cultural Network Coordinator at FEDORA, she manages membership relationships, leads institutional prospecting across European opera houses and dance companies, and coordinates the FEDORA Prizes Biennale, our flagship call for applications supporting new opera and dance creations. For her, every application and every partnership is someone's vision for a new work finding a path forward, and she is glad to be part of that journey.

After a bachelor's and a master's in Arts and Cultural Management at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, she worked in lyric arts in France, at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, Arcal Lyrique and several classical music ensembles, and in Colombia with cultural consulting firms. Her love of the performing arts began with theatre, before dance, music and finally opera came together. She admires Patricia Petibon, Sabine Devieilhe and Barbara Hannigan, artists who dared to step outside the box in a sector still largely dominated by men.

FEDORA felt like the perfect meeting point of her interests, her skills and her understanding of what the sector needs, and its international scope and dynamism drew her in immediately. Away from work, she devours books on history, anthropology and popular science, seeks out mountain landscapes reminiscent of home, and rarely misses a concert. What she loves most about FEDORA is its team, whose warmth and energy make even the busiest days a pleasure. For her, the FEDORA spirit is a bridge: between artistic ambition and the means to realise it, between emerging talent and the institutions that can carry it forward, and between countries, languages and cultures across Europe.




Communications & Marketing


Lea Bou Fadel

Communications & Marketing Manager
Lebanese

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Lea's path to the performing arts was anything but straight, and she wouldn't have it any other way. She began in economics, with a BA and MA at the American University of Beirut, followed by an MSc in Marketing & Creativity at ESCP in London and Paris. Her early career took her through internships in banking, finance, advertising, research, academia and even food and beverage, before more than three years as an economic researcher at the United Nations Development Programme, helping integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into national strategies and policies.

What brought her to the cultural sector is a mix of curiosity, unexpected turns and, as she likes to say, a little bit of fate. Today, at FEDORA, she makes sure the work happening through the organisation reaches and resonates with the right people, whether artists, members, donors, partners or audiences. She was drawn by the chance to make a meaningful contribution to the sector alongside people who are genuinely passionate about what they do.

The arts had always been something she appreciated, but since joining FEDORA, she has experienced opera and dance in a far more meaningful way and discovered an entirely new world.

Away from work, she is happiest outdoors, travelling and discovering new places, with music in all its forms never far away. What she loves most about FEDORA is, without hesitation, the team. And for her, one word sums up the FEDORA spirit: commitment.


Lucile Jonot

Communications & Marketing Coordinator
French

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Lucile always knew she would work in the cultural sector. Dancing since childhood, drawn to urban dance, playing the guitar and never far from a song, she chose a path that would let her make the arts her profession. In a sector where resources naturally go to the stage before the spotlight, she found her calling in the second part of that equation. Today, as Communications & Marketing Coordinator at FEDORA, she shines a light on the new creations and emerging artists at the heart of FEDORA's mission, as well as on the initiatives of our sponsors, members and partners.

After studying at NEOMA, the University of San Diego and the Burgundy School of Business, and gaining communications experience that included an agency in Madrid, she set her sights on the performing arts. She joined FEDORA for her end-of-studies internship, drawn by its focus on music and dance, and stayed on to become coordinator. Working at the opera, in a jewel of Parisian architectural history, and helping give new creations their chance has been a special gift for someone new to the city.

Her love of the stage runs from classic movie musicals such as Les Demoiselles de Rochefort, West Side Story and Fame to Romain Rachline Borgeaud's show Stories. Away from the office, she dances, hikes, cooks and travels. What she cherishes most about FEDORA is its team and the remarkable projects it supports, and for her, the FEDORA spirit is dynamic: in the people, in the work and in the cultural sector itself.


Shashank Paramkusham

Communications & Philanthropy Trainee
Indian

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Shashank has always admired the cultural sector, though from a distance. An artist himself, with a background in design and dance, he never quite expected to work in it, and yet joining FEDORA as Communication & Marketing Trainee feels like the missing piece of the puzzle in his career.

His path began in the Indian film industry, where he worked as a storyboard artist after a BA in Visual Arts (Animation + VFX) at ACFM India. He then turned to marketing, first as a social media manager and later as a marketing specialist at a PR firm, before completing an MSc in Marketing & Creativity at ESCP.

The performing arts have been with him since childhood. He grew up loving puppetry, especially the traditional Indian puppet shows of the yearly touring circus, an art form he says will stay with him for life. Joining an organisation that has helped shape the cultural sector was an exciting prospect, and working alongside the wonderful team that has come together at FEDORA has lived up to it.

Away from the office, he enjoys consuming all kinds of media, especially films and video games, and occasionally creating his own, from art to mixed-media videos. What he loves most about FEDORA is the team. For him, the FEDORA spirit is diversity: the range of perspectives and cultural lenses within the team is a large part of what gives FEDORA its edge, and its reach, in the cultural sector.

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