Bachelor in History from PUC-Rio, master's and doctorate in Social Anthropology from PPGAS/UFRJ, postdoctor at Columbia University,NY. She specialized in theories of rituals and performances, as well as research on spiritism, carnival, and bois-bumbás. Her studies on formative strands of anthropology focused on the works of Oracy Nogueira, Beatriz Dantas, Sérgio Ferretti, and Mário de Andrade, among other scholars of popular cultures. These two fields of interest converge to examine expressive forms and ethnographic narratives, opening the anthropological perspective to dialogue with other human sciences.