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Washington DC Turkish Folk
Dance Troupe
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Before January 1998 Washington,
DC Greater Metropolitan Area lacked a Turkish Folk dance group that would
promote the Turkish culture through the rich and colorful folk dances of
Turkey. The Washington DC Turkish Folkdance troupe was founded
to fulfill this need by bringing together those who love and are interested
in learning and performing Turkish folk dances.
| The troupe was started
by Turkish and Turkish American Students under the umbrella of Assembly
of Turkish Student Associations in DC (ATSA-DC). The founding
efforts were initiated and led by Dr. Tulin Yanik, who was a PhD student
studying biology at the George Washington University at the time.
The co-founders included Tulin Yanik, Aybars Kizilsencer, Demet Cabbar,
Deniz Muslu, Ece Sanal, Ogun Yilmazer, Pelin Aksoy, and Sema Muslu as well as Levent
Yanik, former President of ATSA-DC, and Halim Tansug and Efe Yazici, former
board members of the George Washington University Turkish Student Association.
The Turkish Embassy as well as the Turkish Military and Cultural Attaches
supported the initiative. |
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The troupe began its practices at
the George Washington University in the winter of 1998 and consisted of
14 members. The inaugural performance took place on April 1998 at
the International Night of the George Washington University.
Since then the troupe grew to include more than 30 active performers, and
alumni of approximately 60 people and performed in about 80 international
occasions. |
