East European Folklife Center

Bay Area Alameda County European-American Dance Folklife/Other Music Balkan Roma 2012 2026

The East European Folklife Center (EEFC) began in 1977 with its first weeklong gathering of Balkan music and dance enthusiasts at the Mendocino Woodlands Camp. Since then, the organization has expanded to include, at its core, two annual weeklong summer workshops, one on the west coast and one on the east coast. Each Balkan Music & Dance Workshop (often called Balkan camp) brings together the finest available teachers and performers with students of varying levels and experience eager to share the joys of Balkan traditions. With dance instruction, culture corners, instrumental, vocal, and ensemble classes, days of lessons and nights of parties, these weeklong workshops have been an unforgettable annual celebration for a growing and increasingly diverse community on both U.S. coasts. EEFC also presents a series of vibrant online courses, which feature expert musicians and dance teachers from around the world in a virtual setting, providing instruction to students worldwide.

Living Cultures Grant

2026

Romani Arts Education at Mendocino Balkan Camp

Funds will support a suite of Romani cultural classes at West Coast Balkan Camp, including instruction in Romani singing, brass band traditions, and cultural history by Romani-American and Balkan-American artists as well as allied scholars, ensuring equitable access to and preservation of Romani artistic heritage.

2012

EEFC Website

In 2012, EEFC received a grant from ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program to support the continued refinement of the organization’s website in order to share enhanced information on Balkan traditional and folk arts with a much wider audience than is currently served through its workshop-based activities.  The website is envisioned as a clearinghouse and center, free from prejudice and without any political agendas, for sharing cultural knowledge of the region.