Based in Seattle, Washington, Datina Folk Ensemble is a traditional Romanian dance group made up 100% by volunteers. Everyone in our group comes from different backgrounds, but none are dancers by profession. Our passion for dancing, music and sharing our heritage is what brings us all together and we strive to teach, preserve and share Romanian culture.
Datina Folk Ensemble started as an idea over lunch, in the spring of 2013. Andreea mentioned her longtime wish of
dancing with a Romanian folk dance ensemble and suggested starting one. Ioana happened to know just the kind of
choreography that would be not too difficult to teach to beginner dancers, so they decided to give it a try. A few
days later a small group met for practice for the first time in the Community Room at the Crossroads Mall in
Bellevue, WA, and the ensemble was born.
The group's public debut happened on November 2nd of the same year, with a performance in the morning at the
Crossroads Festival in Bellevue, WA, and another performance in the evening of the same day at the Romanian
community Fall Celebration (Balul Toamnei) in Renton, WA.
Datina has grown to include a youth group - Datina Junior - and a music band - Taraful Datina. We've performed at
events organized by the local Romanian community from Seattle, at festivals in Washington, Oregon, California, as
well as at events with a focus on Romanian folklore, like Heritage Nights at local schools or the Romanian
Festival at the Maryhill Museum of Art in Goldendale, WA. Every year Datina puts together a show of its own, the
Romanian Winter series, with guests from other local groups.
As we look to the future, we hope to continue to make shows that emphasize the rich heritage of customs of the
traditional village, many times going beyond music and dance.
