The Sebastian Story

I was born in Romania, into a family line of priests, engineers, teachers, and artists. Growing up under communism, I witnessed what happens when truth is silenced and people lose their sense of connection — to themselves, to each other, and to something greater. That experience gave me a lifelong pursuit: to understand what builds trust and alignment, and what destroys them.

I trained first at the George Enescu Conservatory of Ballet, then immersed myself in modern dance in college  and later discovered Argentine tango — forms where every step demands presence, balance, and an almost sacred attention to another person. Performing with Pilobolus worldwide taught me how movement binds strangers without a word. Later, at the William Esper Studio, I studied the craft of Meisner acting and later taught it at the university level, a craft that strips away masks and insists on truth in the moment.

My journey carried me across classrooms and boardrooms: I earned an MBA in Accounting, an MA in Statecraft & National Security Affairs, and served as Director of Media Development & Production at the Institute of World Politics, where I helped build online programs, produced courses, podcasts, and documentaries, and taught workshops using tango as a metaphor for trust and shared movement.

Today, I write, direct, and produce stories and courses that explore what holds people — and systems — together. My work blends aesthetics with strategy, visceral experience with intellectual rigor, the human with the geopolitical. At its heart is one conviction:

Connection comes first. Everything else follows.

A group of children in scout uniforms standing together for a group photo, with one child circled in green.
Smiling man with a shaved head, light beard, and wearing a black shirt.
A man with a beard and short hair standing outdoors on a city street, wearing a black jacket and looking at the camera.

The Short Version

  • Dance & Acting → Embodied connection: attention, impulse, presence.

  • Teaching & Coaching → Translating craft into repeatable behaviors.

  • Strategy & Story → Scaling connection from self to systems.

  • Ethos → Authenticity, empathy, alignment, service.