Romanian Folk Dance with Sonia Dion & Cristian Florescu
Sonia and Cristian are the very best master teachers of Romanian folk dances.
If you have never attended one of the dance workshops led by Sonia and Cristian, you should come to camp just for the opportunity to learn from them. Their teaching is always clear, paced to fit the abilities of their students, and entertaining. You may already recognize some of the popular dances they choreographed, such as De secerat, Hora veche, Brasoveanca, Dana, Corlu Aroman, Ina Ina, Te aven baxtale, and many more.
Sonia and Cristian were married at the Stockton Folk Dance Camp in 2010. They have been guest performers with the Collage International Dance Ensemble of Boston, regular teachers at l'École supérieure de danse du Québec, and were selected as part of the Artists in the Schools program sponsored by the Québec Ministry of Education. In recent years, they have developed a specific interest in leading dance workshops with recreational folk dance groups, traveling worldwide to share their passion for Romanian folk traditions.
They also offer ethnographic tours of Romania. Check out their website:
Cristian was born in Bucharest, Romania, and began dancing in 1982 with various Romanian folk ensembles, studying under specialists including the esteemed Theodor Vasilescu. As a principal dancer with the National Ensemble Cununa Carpatilor, he toured extensively across Europe, Asia, and North America. In 1990-91, he received a certificate from the Romanian Ministry of Culture and ACAFR as a recognized solo dancer and choreographer in folklore. Additionally, he served as chief répétiteur for the Folk Ensemble Balada in Romania and worked as a choreographer for the Academic Ensemble Joc in Moldova. After moving to Canada in 1993, he joined Les Sortilèges, a professional folk dance company based in Montreal, where he actively contributed as a dancer, teacher, répétiteur, and choreographer until 2003. Since relocating, Cristian has also developed his skills in various dance forms, including modern dance, ballroom, jazz, tap, as well as French-Canadian clogging and Irish step dancing.
Sonia, born in Québec, has been a professional dancer for many years. She served as the lead dancer and choreographer for Les Sortilèges, Canada's oldest professional folk dance ensemble, for which she created several new productions including Une page d'histoire, Un pas de danse, Montréal en danse, and Pour se faire plaisir. Sonia has toured worldwide, gaining experience in a wide range of dance techniques including Romanian folk dance, Scottish highland dancing, French-Canadian clogging, and ballroom.
