Elia Luyando

It is with great sadness that we share the news that Elia Luyando died on Sunday. Elia was a much-admired ballet tutor who led Central’s approach to dance training as Ballet Mistress and more recently as Head of the Senior School until 2021. Her professionalism, passion for dance and warmth affected all who knew her, especially her students and fellow tutors.

Elia was born in Mexico and through a scholarship studied ballet in Havana, Cuba from the age of 12 to 15 years. She returned home to Mexico and spent the next 20 years as a professional dancer in Mexico, New York and Japan. She eventually joined Central in 2003 where she had a profound influence on the school and its status as a world-leading professional dance training organisation.