Being in the service of Romanian traditional dance for 25 years now, Camelia and Nelutu have been training many generations of dancers in order to pass on the beauty and greatness of Romanian traditional folkdances.
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Children and youngsters ensembles trained and prepared by the two choreographers shortly became real ambassadors of Romanian traditional culture. The value of the repertory, the accuracy of interpretation and the very well directed shows made the trained dance groups enjoy an impressive honor list both in Romania and abroad. The impressive activity on stage is successfully doubled by Romanian traditional dance courses of initiation and learning for adults and young people.
Neluţu was born on the 8th of January 1967 in Fagaras and his first contact with Romanian traditional music and dance was achieved both in his family and in the middle of his community. Between 1980 and 1985 he was a member of The “Fagarasul” Folkloric Ensemble, administrated by The Cultural Community Center in Fagaras. In 1988, he leaves for Cluj-Napoca to study and joins The “Martisorul” Folkloric Ensemble of The Cultural Community Center for Students. From 1993 to 2008, he works as a choreographer reviewer at The Cultural Center for Preserving and Promoting the Traditional Romanian Culture in Cluj-Napoca, where he improves his knowledge as a specialist in folkloric choreography. In 2004, he graduates the Folkloric Dances Academy – Bucharest, having as a teacher famous Theodor Vasilescu. In 2007, he is licensed in arts, specialization: choreographic direction, within “Gheoghe Dima” Musical Academy in Cluj-Napoca.
Camelia was born on the 9th of January 1964. The holidays spent at her grandparents in Cornesti gave her the opportunity to take part in the traditional dancing of the Romanian villagers. In 1984, she joins The “Martisorul” Folkloric Ensemble of The Cultural Community Center for Students in Cluj-Napoca. In 2010, she graduates The Scenic Art College, specialization choreographic pedagogy, of The Gheorghe Dima Music Academy in Cluj-Napoca.
The two choreographers met in “Martisorul” Folkloric Ensemble and in 1988 they became a family blessed with to beautiful and talented children, Tudor and Antonia. They left the ensemble in 1992 for they were no longer students (Camelia graduated Economics and Nelutu graduated Electronics). But the passion for dance and their desire for perfection made them continue their professional career and so they became members of some important folkloric ensembles in Cluj-Napoca, “Somes Napoca” of The School of Arts and “Avram Iancu” of The Avram Iancu Institute. In 1994, they decided to found their own ensemble and this is how “Doina”, the folkloric ensemble for children gets animated. For the first two years, it was administrated by The Military Center of Cluj-Napoca. Then, from 1997 to the present, it has been administrated by The Children’s Palace, a prestigious institution of extra school activities in our city. In a short time, “Doina” becomes one of the most important Romanian traditional dances ensembles for kids in our country with an extraordinary honor list. Most of the dancers from the first generation of “Doina” set up The “Traditii” Ensemble for Students of “The Agriculture Science and Veterinary Medicine University” in Cluj-Napoca, which turned out to be one of the best ensembles in Romania.
Since 1994, hundreds of dancers (children, youngsters and adults) have been trained by the two choreographers, most of them becoming members of very important folkloric ensembles. But the most important thing is that Camelia and Nelutu made their students fall in love with the Romanian traditional dances, from the very first moment.
