Education and training

Georgia Elza Măciuceanu

I took a (contemporary) dance class for the first time in the spring of 2019. Since then, others have followed, and because I found myself in this type of movement, I wanted to spend more time exploring it. So, I chose to go audition for the Academy.

I started going to dance classes for the sake of dance, then it became a way to get to know myself better, and, after the months spent at the Academy, it became a research and an interest related to dance as an art form.

Although only a few months have passed, I have accumulated a lot of information, be it cultural, emotional or motion based. Working with many choreographers and artists both in the country and abroad is a combination of different perspectives; applied in “time and space”, they helped me to have a richer and open body and mind in relation to movement, dance and performance.

Cătălin Munteanu

I have been practicing and learning painting, contemporary dance and photo / video editing slowly, but surely, since 2012. I’m interested in their contribution to the psychotherapeutic process, their somatic aspect and the relationship between somatic and creative in the therapeutic process.

I studied psychology at the Ecological University of Bucharest and, currently, I am a hippotherapy assistant, an aba therapist and I hold painting workshops for children.

I presented my works in exhibition spaces in Frankfurt and Bucharest, within the project “Elementar”.

Currently I focus on the performative aspect of contemporary dance, being enrolled in the educational program “Academy of Dance and Performance”, organized by the National Center of Dance Bucharest. I studied movement techniques for four years: Capoeira, at the “Cercul Întreg” Educational Research Center (Cluj), with Lua Santana, Itapua Beiranar, Bogdan Rakolcza and Contact Improvisation, at Contact Festival Bucharest, with Scott Wells, Benno Voorham, Malcolm Manning and Mirva Makinen.

When I don’t work with children and I don’t dance, I deal with filming and photography, as well as photo / video editing of shows and events in the field of contemporary dance and performing arts.

Laura Murariu

I’m Laura Murariu. I am 19 years old and I come from Iași. A few months ago I moved to Bucharest to attend the courses of the Academy of Dance and Performance. For 8 years I studied classical dance in the choreography department of the National College of Art “O. Bench ”, Iași. For the past two years, I have participated in two intensive training programs in Canada and Austria. When I returned to Romania, I graduated high school and was going to enroll in a choreography faculty.

My life changed completely when I was admitted to the “Academy of Dance and Performance” program. My contact with contemporary dance was almost non-existent before I arrived in Bucharest. From the first workshop I had with Jan Burkhardt, I felt that I was much more in the contemporary area than in the classic one. This was confirmed to me in the following months in which I participated in numerous courses and workshops with both Romanian and international choreographers. For me, the fact that I am present in this program represents a special experience and a great opportunity in the career that I want to pursue. All I want to do is DANCE.

Foto: Marius Rădulescu

Mădălina Răducanu

My artistic training comes from the theater, but dancing has always been with me, as a faithful friend. It accompanied me in my search, in deepening the relationship with my body, with my inner feelings, with art. For several years, out of a need to know myself in a different context, I put the theater on hold. But the dance stayed with me.

The academy meant and means a return to the source, a space in which I allowed myself to ask a lot of questions, a confrontation with myself on stage, of course, but especially outside it. A necessary process, by no means simple but beautiful, which took place in a familiar, trusting atmosphere, surrounded by people from whom I learned more than I thought possible.

Foto: Marine Leduc

Claudiu Silvianu

Hi, my name is Claudiu Silvianu, I am 41 years old, I graduated from the Faculty of Psychology “Spiru Haret” and I am currently working at a beauty salon (hairdresser). My experience with contemporary dance began in 2013, by going to a workshop of the choreographer Cosmin Manolescu, and since then I have been investing time in this area, going to shows, watching contemporary dance movies.

Out of the desire to better understand this art and to see who I resonate with, in this search, I continued this exploration through dance, going to as many contemporary dance workshops as possible by local and foreign choreographers.

I would like to hold contemporary dance workshops in the future to help people get closer to themselves, to free themselves from prejudice, to be freer in expression, with less inhibitions, etc. I want to do this because I think the world would be better off if people introduced dance to their daily activities.

Amelia Motea

I am Amelia Motea, I am 25 years old and I will soon be a recent graduate. Actress with legal documents. I find myself in an experimental area, I believe in a space where various artistic environments are alchemized. Eclectic is a word I really like. I have always had a kind of inner rebellion that translates into questioning conventions and the desire to discover new forms of expression. Dancing is for me one of the most important artistic discoveries. It gave me a much broader perspective on the stage’s potential. In the empty space inside the black box the possibilities are endless.

I am deeply grateful to all the people who worked to make this project a reality. I also include my colleagues here. I am grateful for every morning I entered the courtyard of the CNDB, having no idea what would happen that day, after which I plunged into the unknown.

Iulia Chindea

My name is Iulia, I am 23 years old and I am a student at the National University of Arts, in the Graphic Arts department.

I started dancing 3 years ago, after attending the International Dance Film Festival. I enrolled in a contemporary dance class, and I haven’t stopped since. I participated in almost all the workshops that were held in Bucharest.

I plan to stay in the area of performing arts so that I can learn more about dance, movement in general, and lately I have also started to be concerned with the text dimension.

During the courses and workshops at the Academy we deepened several basic things, such as the stage presence and awareness of one’s own body, in relation to the space and the other surrounding bodies. Of course, there are many more approaches that matter, but I consider these essential and have assimilated them best.

Andreea Belu

I am a choreographer and performer of contemporary dance, my activity is driven by the interest in educating body consciousness, developing the body’s intelligence by preparing it for the diversity of movement patterns. I graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the choreography department of the U.N.A.T.C. “I. L. Caragiale” from Bucharest and the bachelor’s program at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences, also in Bucharest. I have been teaching contemporary dance, Contact Improvisation, Pilates and Yoga for over 10 years. Over the years, I have collaborated as a performer, teacher and student with the National Center for Dance Bucharest, 4Culture Association, Pantbrush Factory, The Workshop Foundation (Hungary), North Karelia College (Finland), University of Arts in Târgu Murteș, Tangaj Dance Collective, German State Theater in Timisoara. I co-coordinated the +2017 [about body, love and contemporary dance] project and DanceCloud platform. I create stage movement for several plays, collaborating with institutions such as: Szigligeti Theater Oradea, Bucharest National Theater, Metropolis Theater, Matei Vişniec Theater Suceava. Movement, dance and theater are for me a direct and sincere way to reach people.

Alina Lupeș

My artistic beginning was in improvised theater, and I continued with dance and performance studies. I was a performer in works by Madalina Dan, Cosmin Manolescu, Mihai Mihalcea / Farid Fairuz, Tino Seghal, Jan Burckhard, Sigal Zouk, Alina Ușurelu, Jack Thompson, in spaces such as CNDB, MNAC, MARe, Sala Omnia etc.

I am preoccupied with art as a process of revealing the sensible, the beautiful that is already here, rather than as a generator of the spectacular. I work on my own practices, which also involve meditation, sound, poetry, philosophy. I am interested in the presence, the path of awareness, the sensory, a type of honest expressiveness that arises from this dynamic flow, in and from relationships, which goes beyond the need to demonstrate or entertain.

I also teach educational / therapeutic courses based on somatic, emotion and awareness practices, in collaboration with the Mind Education team.

Diana Solomon

I believe that dance is a way of self-discovery and personal development, a method of dynamic meditation and a way to relax, express and have fun. Through art we rejoice our souls and make them vibrate.

I studied at the “Ion Mincu” Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism. I started working as a model and dancing in 2007, practicing sport dance.

7 years ago I entered the world of Latin dance and since then I have been collaborating with Adrian Popita, my reliable partner. We travel, perform and teach, managing to reach overseas, in countries like Mexico and Colombia.

Being passionate about psychology, I studied coaching and NLP. Thus I discovered how important it is to work with both the movements and the mental and emotional processes that occur in dance and even in everyday life.

I like to travel, socialize and also practice yoga and meditation.

I am currently a student at the Academy of Dance and Performance at the National Dance Center of Bucharest.

Here I discovered a wonderful team and colleagues from whom I learned the techniques, concepts and history of contemporary dance. Following this beautiful experience, I also acquired new effective methods of teaching. Thanks!

Diana Dragu

My name is Diana Dragu, I am 20 years old and I like to dance.

Why? How? This is a longer story… Well, so long.

I developed a passion for mouvement from the age of 16 when I started going to aerobics, kangoo jumps and cycling classes. Since I was 19, I have been part of the OKaua Theater-Dance Company and here I met dance. I realized that this is the form of movement that I enjoy the most and not fitness. Through this company, I participated in FITS (Sibiu International Theater Festival) with a Rhythm & Drama show – “Fakebook”, where I could see many contemporary dance performances from famous companies such as: Batsheva Dance Company, Vertigo Dance Company, Zheijang Song & Dance Theater and many others. That’s where I fell in love. That was the turning point in my life.

Since then, I started looking for workshops, courses, anything to practice this kind of dance. That’s how I came across the National Center for Dance Bucharest and entered the educational program of the Academy of Dance and Performance.

A program that changed my life. I’m not exaggerating! This academy taught me a lot about the body, its awareness, somatics and body motor skills. I really liked that I had courses with many different teachers and I was able to observe their personal way of working. In this program, I had the opportunity to take part in workshops given by foreign choreographers from whom I learned techniques but also the basics of contemporary dance, namely: Jan Burkhardt, Allison Brown (Forsythe technique), Noa Zuk (Gaga movement), Gisela Muller and many others. Many hours of theory with Mihaela Michailov that helped me understand the history of contemporary dance which is mandatory in order to be able to carry it further.

Diversity & Quality & Dedication. If I could summarize the academy in three words, they seem to me the most appropriate.

Filip Stoica

I am a performer and choreographer, with a kinetic basis in contemporary dance, contact improvisation and breakdance, ways of movement that I have been studying since 2010.

My collaboration with the Galway Dance Academy (Ireland), Bucharest Metropolitan Circus (Romania), Linotip – Independent Choreographic Center, working with choreographers such as Jan Burkhardt, Marty Kudelka, Dan Puric, Amalia Strinopoulou, Gigi Caciuleanu and choreographic studies at UNATC Bucharest brought me to the conclusion that I learn and develop my bodily intelligence at the cultural and interactive intersection of different ways of relating to dance and movement.

I do not look at movement or dance as materializations of different techniques, but as manifestations of sensory, emotional, mental data incorporated in each of us: walking, breathing, gesture, are movements and dances contained in each body.

All these experiences and feelings came to light during the preparation of my own show, “Sorry, us!”, hosted at the Artists’ Nest, in Bucharest.

Adrian Popița

My interest for movement appeared early, when I was 5 years old. With martial arts. After I turned 12 years and got few awards in the field, I started dancing. I haven’t stopped dancing since.

I started with salsa, then I started to study everything that fell “on my lap”: hip-hop, stage choreo, contemporary, fire. It didn’t matter. The important thing was to find out.

In parallel, I studied fitness, nutrition and yoga. I also acquired acreditation as a fitness instructor.

After that I moved on to the communication part of life. I studied coaching and NLP. With a lot of personal development in parallel. I honestly think that to be a good dancer, or a good choreographer, you need to know more than movements and more than your field of expertise.

I think you need to know as many aspects of the human condition as possible.

I’ve been dancing salsa for 16 years. I won 5 national championships and I represented Romania at the World Championships. I prepared the only triple world salsa champion of Romania. I studied salsa in the countries where it comes from: Colombia and Mexico.

Next on the list is Cuba.

I love dancing because it gives you the opportunity to express yourself without words, to show who you are when you don’t speak. And, most importantly, to be who you want to be. There was nothing else in those moments. It’s magic. And contemporary dance… Free to everything.

I arrived at CNDB by chance and I am very happy. I am happy to see people who are passionate about what they do, people who teach others what they know. After all, that means being human.

CNDB is a place with many cool choreographers passionate about passing on what they know.

Smaranda Găbudeanu

I began my formal education through acting studies and puppetry and I continued with contemporary dance and visits to various artistic environments, my works having an inter-disciplinary perspective that integrates different practices and approaches. The body is at the center of my activities both as material and from the perspective in which I investigate.

In individual and group work I took on a multitude of roles covering various aspects of show production: dancer, actor, choreographer, as well as producer and curator.

I am the founder of the PETEC organization (www.petec.ro) and a collaborator of the National Center for Dance  Bucharest and of the theaters Nottara, Creangă and Excelsior.

Along with participating in artistic productions, my main concern is the exploration of body practices and the acquisition of somatic and compositional techniques, a concern that took me through improvisation contact festivals and residencies, gave birth to artistic research laboratories and experimental performances. and finally brought me to the Academy.

Vera Cirlugea

Cirlugea Vera. 21 years old.

Nonconformist artist in both makeup and dance.

I oscillate between the area of street dance and the experimental part of contemporary dance. I can’t and don’t want to choose a single dance area when I have so much to explore. I think the fusion of the two contrasts defines me.

What draws me to dance? Technique, execution, strength, control, feeling of flying low and delirium.

I resonated best at the exploration courses guided by choreographers (Allison, Gisela, Valentina, Andreea Novac, Simona Deaconescu), in which our body was transposed in different areas and states, discovering new ways of movement. Dance and energy come out of the body, capturing more than the visible.