Academic Centre"Dandari", folklore dance ensemble of the University of Latvia, was founded in 1980 by ethnochoreographer Ernests Spics with the aim of preserving and popularizing Latvian ethnographic and folklore dances. Along with the folk dances, the participants of "Dandari" also experience the Latvian traditional holiday events, which are related to the ancient solar calendar and reflect its course in the sky. Since 2015, the folklore dance ensemble has been led by the long-time "Dandari" dancer Inga Duka and Jevgenij Mickevics.
"Dandari" have always been proud of their musicians who not only play, but also dance themselves. To accompany the dances, musical instruments, characteristic of the end of the 19th century, are used - violins, harmonicas, zithers, mandolin and double bass.
At the beginning of 2019, "Dandari" concluded an ambitious project "100 dances for the centenary" - a video tribute to the country's centenary, dancing 100 dances in the most beautiful places in Latvia and gathering dancers and musicians from various ethno groups. However, their plan is to continue this project and grow it into an even more impressive project "Archive of Dances".
