Sonia Dion & Cristian Florescu
Sonia and Cristian are the very best master teachers of Romanian folk dances.
If you have never attended a dance event where Sonia and Cristian have taught, you should come to camp just for them. Their teaching is always clear, paced to fit the abilities of their students, and entertaining. You may already know some of the popular dances they choreographed. These include: De secerat, Hora veche, Brasoveanca, Dana, Corlu Aroman, Ina Ina, Te aven baxtale, and there are many more as well.
The couple were married at the Stockton Folk Dance Camp in 2010. Cristian and Sonia have been guest performers with the Collage International Dance Ensemble of Boston, were regular teachers at l'École supérieure de danse du Québec, and were selected to be 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 working with recreational folk dance groups and have traveled all over the world to share their love of Romanian folk traditions.
They also lead ethnographic tours of Romania. See their website:
Cristian was born in Bucharest, Romania. He started dancing in 1982 with different Romanian folk ensembles, and studied with various specialists including the renowned Theodor Vasilescu. Cristian was principal dancer with the National Ensemble Cununa Carpatilor with whom he toured extensively in Europe, Asia and North America. In 1990-91, the Romanian Ministry of Culture and the ACAFR conferred on him a certificate as recognized solo dancer and choreographer in the field of folklore. He also was chief répétiteur for the Folk Ensemble Balada in Romania and worked as choreographer for the Academic Ensemble Joc in Moldova. In 1993, he joined Les Sortilèges, a professional folk dance company based in Montreal with whom he was actively involved as a dancer, teacher, répétiteur and choreographer until 2003. Since coming to Canada, Cristian has acquired multiple skills in various dance forms including modern dance, ballroom, jazz, tap as well as French-Canadian clogging and Irish step dancing.
Sonia was born in Québec and has been a professional dancer for many years. She was lead dancer and choreographer for Les Sortilèges dance company, Canada's oldest professional folk dance ensemble, with whom she developed several new productions including Une page d'histoire, Un pas de danse, Montréal en danse, and Pour se faire plaisir. Sonia has toured worldwide and has been exposed to a wide range of dance techniques including Romanian folk dance, Scottish highland dancing, French-Canadian clogging and ballroom.
