Manuel Pelmuş is a choreographer active in the Bucharest dance community. He studied dance in Bucharest, Romania, and performed extensively with the Romanian National Opera, Romanian television, and the state opera in Cluj, before spending several years performing with the Hamburg Opera, touring throughout Europe, Asia, and South America. He eventually moved away from his classical training to explore more politically charged, avant-garde styles. Pelmuş is now known for working abstractly and meditatively in explorations of identity, cultural similarities, common references in language, and mass media. His dances include atypical gestures, and sometimes complete stillness. Pelmuş believes that dance is not defined by movement, but by the body.