Photography.

I took and developed my first film from the photography lessons that I have joined at the Dance School. A few of the photographs ended up rather blurry but everyone has to start somewhere! And it was my first time using a SLR camera, which I have somehow already managed to break. Here are a few of my photo's..

Bayram cancelled.

Turkish Flag hung outside my flat in preparation for Bayram.

Every year on the 29th October, Cumhuriyet Bayramı is celebrated. It is the Republic Day festival in Turkey. The Folk Dance Department of the State Turkish Music and Dance Conservatoire were due to perform in Kuşadası, a local seaside town. The performance was part of the many celebrations and folk dance events that take place each year on the 29th, all over Turkey. There are several different Bayram's throughout the year, Bayram is the word for a nationally celebrated festival or holiday. 
The dance performance mainly consisted of third and fourth year dance students, and I was invited along to watch the show. The night before the celebrations were due to begin, the Turkish Government announced that all Republic Day celebrations were to be cancelled due to last weeks terrible news of the Earthquake that hit the Eastern Turkey Province, Van. 
Although it is a shame to have to cancel celebrations and performances that much hard work has been put into for several months, I think that the Government chose to do the right thing. Why should everyone be celebrating and having a good time when something so terribly tragic is happening in the very same country? I just hope that all of the money that would have been put into the festivities, now goes to the Earthquake victims. 
The show was supposed to be about an hour long with several different sections representing different events, for example, the rebirth of Ataturk, the women sending their loved ones off to war and the men fighting at war. Even though the performance was cancelled, I still managed to get a little bit of footage during a rehearsal a couple of weeks ago..

Rehearsal footage of the performance to celebrate Bayram.

Modern Dans Toplulğu

Dancers: Nazil Dirin, Zeynep Körpeoğlu, Özlem Özdemir, Özlem Özükan, Ilke Sayiner, Anna Akabali. 'NOCTURNE', Choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. Photo: Hurriyet Website.

On Tuesday, after having my worst dance class since being in Turkey (Spoon dancing obviously), where nothing would go in and I seemed to keep getting the movement wrong when we were asked to perform alone, I went to the Theatre. My Dad's Aunt had told me she had got us tickets for the Opera. I didn't really know what to expect and wasn't sure if I could handle two classical concerts in two weeks! However to my surprise, it was a Contemporary dance performance. Performing was the Ankara Devlet Opera Ve Balesi, Modern Dans Toplulğu, which is the Ankara State Opera and Ballet's Modern Dance Group. The performance consisted of a triple bill with two different choreographers. The First piece NOCTURNE was choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, as was the third piece, IN<FUSION>IN. The second piece ÇEKIM, was choreographed by Deniz Alp.

It was the pre-set of the first piece NOCTURNE that made it immediately evident that this was a contemporary dance work, and suddenly I was on the edge of my seat. This piece consisted of an ensemble of six female dancers. They were all very clearly trained in classical ballet as well as contemporary and had extremeley strong technique. NOCTURNE sees the female dancers move through the space with fast paced floor work and elegant jumps and leaps. The dancers all began dressed in variations of long coats, dresses and heels, however as the piece continued items were removed leaving the performers in what looked like their undergarments. One of the dancers was left in a large white vest and white Y-fronts. She performed a solo to the sound of a child whispering. The combination of the costume (which looked rather like a nappy), the child's voice and the soft, quiet quality of the solo made the dancer seem child-like and vulnerable, which as an audience member was extremely endearing to watch. I really enjoyed this piece and it was by far my favourite of the evening.

Dancers: Deniz Alp, Özlem Özükan. 'ÇEKIM', Choreographed by Deniz Alp. Photo: Artilya Website.

Dancers: Emrah Keskin, Kerem Inanç. 'ÇEKIM', Choreographed by Deniz Alp. Photo: Artilya Website.

The second piece, ÇEKIM, was a quartet of two male and two female dancers. I felt there was a very obvious use of the four dancers, with two interchanging male/female duets. The four dancers whom were lit by a central spotlight, performed continuous lifts and partner work, every so often switching partners. None of the lifts were particularly innovative, although every so often a rather unique and interesting lift would occur. Unfortunately there was not enough of these moments and they were over within seconds. If you blinked you would have missed it! The dancers all were incredibly technical and if nothing else they were beautiful enough to watch alone (without paying attention to the choreography). However, as choreography is very important to me, I could not ignore it. Although I hate to say it, ÇEKIM reminded me slightly of an A-level exam piece, I know this, for any choreographer, is a really big insult but it was my honest opinion. 


When I read in the programme that IN<FUSION>IN was also choreographed by Ochoa, I was excited and had very high hopes for the closing piece of this performance. Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed. The dance work had the full cast of twenty dancers performing and they began all in unison. The dancers were evenly spaced across the stage in 4 lines of 5 dancers. They began performing a series of gestural movements with the use of body percussion. For example, a slap of the leg, followed by a whistle then two stamps with the feet. I felt that I have seen this type of thing many a time before and there was nothing fresh or new to this dance work. I found myself daydreaming on several occasions which was a great shame as it is the first live contemporary dance work I have seen for over two months.

Although it may sound like I had a negative experience of this contemporary dance performance, this was not the case! It was so great to see some contemporary dance here in Izmir, especially as often when I tell people that I am trained in contemporary, they either have never heard of it or assume that it is Salsa or Hip Hop. When it comes to trying to explain what I do back in the UK, it proves rather difficult, especially as Turkish is my second language. I was so pleased to see that in fact there is contemporary dance in Turkey although on a much smaller scale than England. From reading up on the company after the show I found that over the years they have commissioned several well known English contemporary choreographers, such as, Micheal Popper, Richard Alston and Lloyd Newson to name a few. Overall, it was a great experience to watch these works amongst an audience of many contemporary dance virgins. And it was a clear reminder of where I began and why I am here today.

Zeybek Class Photos.

Dancers: Guzin, Ceyda, Esra, Cala, Meral, Baran, Ilkyaz, Cenk

Ocal Teaching  Zeybek to Year 1

Dancers: Miktat, Cenk, Ceyda, Abdullah, Murat, Orcan, Ozge, Baran, Mustafa

Dancers: Inci, Abdullah, Ugur, Gizem

Mehmet Öcal Özbilgin

Since last time..

Izmir.

Fresh Orange Juice on the Ferry.

Izmir Symphony Orchestra Tickets.

Its been a while since my last post and I have been pretty busy. I got invited to the opening concert of The Izmir Symphony Orchestra at The Ahmed Adnan Saygun Arts Centre. It was very interesting as I have never actually been to a classical music concert so it was a completely new experience for me. The guest soloist was a pianist named Idil Biret, I hadn't heard of her but it was very clear that she was extremely well known in the classical music world as she had a standing ovation for each of her three solos and was signing cd's after the performance.

In Izmir if you don't fancy getting the metro or the bus, there is always the ferry. It's such a nice journey across the water with amazing views of the city. They also bring round freshly squeezed orange juice and lemonade during the 20 minute crossing which makes it even more enjoyable!

On Tuesday night we were told about a wedding ceremony that was happening locally. Knowing what Turkish weddings are like, I went along not knowing the bride or groom. It was just in the middle of the street and it felt like the whole local community had come along to celebrate. There was a live band and almost everyone was up dancing. From little children as young as three or four, to elderly people, who had masses of energy considering their age. Each song that was played seemed to have a specific dance attached, which the whole of the wedding party knew. There was such a great atmosphere and although I left at around 11.30pm due to a 6am start, it was very clear that the partying and dancing would be continued into the early hours of the morning!

     The Wedding Guests Dancing. 

On Thursday Roarke came into the dance school with me and did a little bit of filming during the Zeybek lesson (I will post the video soon). I thought it would be a good idea to have some of the dances filmed for research as well as to post on here. After the class we met with an ex student, Ramazan, who Ocal introduced us to. He was so helpful and offered for me to teach contemporary classes to some children at the schools he works at. He also took me to visit a school for the deaf, where he is the folk dance teacher. I found it extremely fascinating watching the group of 16 girls perform their newly finished dance piece, and I was amazed by how in time and on top of the counts they were, even though they could not hear the music. I wasn't expecting them to be inadequate at all, but I was in awe of their performance. From choreographing group pieces in the past I am aware of how difficult it can be to get the timing, musicality and precision of movements in complete unison, even when working with some of the most amazing dancers, (I can even think of examples of professional dance companies who can't achieve this, but they shall remain nameless). But this group of young girls had every last movement down to a T. I was asked then and there if I would like to teach them some contemporary dance, but as the trip to the school was a last minute decision and I was caught off guard, I had nothing prepared. However I have been invited back so am looking forward to the opportunity of working with this group of dancers.

it's circle time..

Dancers: Steph Potter, Lauren Wallace, Kayleigh Prescott, Martin Shead, 

        Saskia Bell, Sam Reynolds, Matt Howell. 'White Wash 2011' 

Choreography: Ceyda Tanc. Photo: Roarke Pearce.

I have recently become very aware of the structure of Turkish folk dance classes, and the differences between folk dance class and contemporary technique class. The majority of the folk dance classes follow the same structure; A basic phrase/piece of rep is taught, with the female and male versions. Then several adaptations of the original phrase are taught. An example of this is in Zeybek, we learnt the basic phrase, then the phrase was repeated with several variations:

1. Basic phrase

2. Phrase with arm movements added

3. Traveling backwards

4. Traveling sideways

5. Phrase with turns added

6. Phrase jumping

7. Jumping with a squat added

8. Phrase with leg gestures

9. Hopping

10. Clapping gesture added

11. Final finishing version of the original phrase.

Not all of the dances are this long, and some have as little as only four or five versions. The class differs to a contemporary technique class, in that the dances are taught more as repertoire and you tend to only learn one dance per class, therefore the whole class is just building on that one initial phrase. Then the next class will be a quick recap, and on to a whole new dance. In contemporary technique however, you are generally taught several exercises and then sometimes one longer sequence towards the end of class. These exercises and sequences are often developed week by week rather than all within the same lesson.

In my experience so far, all but two of the Turkish folk dance classes I have participated in are performed in a large circle, moving anti-clockwise. I'm still unsure as to whether the majority of the dance styles are performed in a circle or whether it's for spacing, as a large percentage of the movement travels forwards and obviously there is limited space in a studio. So practicing with everyone in one large circle allows for endless amounts of traveling space.  

I think it's great that even though we are learning very traditional dance styles, and movement that has clear male and female roles, everybody always has to learn both the parts together and then either perform the movement as a female or male, as a whole group. There is very rarely a time when only the girls perform the female role, and the boys perform the male role. This makes it evident that although these dances were made in the past and are still taught in a traditional way, there are subtle changes that contribute to breaking the boundaries of this traditional movement. 

Kaşık Oyunları.

           Wooden spoons used for spoon dancing.

        A male dance group performing a spoon dance (in traditional costume).

This week I have taken on two extra dance classes, Zeybek technique and Kaşık Oyunları (spoon dancing). Having a technique class where a prop is vital, is a completely new experience for me as this isn't done in contemporary dance. Of course I have performed in works where props are used as part of the choreography, but with spoon dancing, the spoons are a necessity (hence the name).

We first learnt how to hold and play the spoons with one set in each hand. Then we were taught a tune to play. This was later added to a hopping leg sequence, and finally the arm movements were added which was is opposition. Each of the elements alone were relatively simple, although playing the spoons proved quite difficult as my hands weren't big enough to hold the spoons correctly. However, when all of the elements were put together it became pretty complicated! There was so much to think about and everything was in opposition, this made it extremely hard for me to pick up. Also, it was the last class in a very long day of dance which probably added to the difficulty.

The class was very enjoyable although it isn't my favourite of the Turkish dances to watch. I think that other styles, such as Zeybek, have a lot more to offer in the sense of enriching the contemporary movement vocabulary, so this is where my main interest lies. However, I will continue attending these classes as I think there is much more that can be learnt and taken from spoon dancing.

Catherine Foley Lecture on Irish Dance.

Today Catherine Foley was visiting The State Turkish Music Conservatory Department of Folk Dance and she gave a lecture on Traditional Dance in Ireland. I found the lecture really interesting and very informative. It was nice to completely understand what was going on for the whole two hours. Although I can speak and understand more than enough Turkish to get by, sometimes when spoken quickly things get lost in translation.

First week dancing in Turkey..

                                           Pink Sky, Izmir, Turkey.          
      

                                           Our Swimming Pool, Izmir, Turkey.


I have just finished my first week at the dance school in Turkey. I have taken part in several classes this week including, Ballet, Zeybek, Muğla, Denizli, Afyon and photography/film. The school day runs from 8.30am-5.00pm, however I am living an hour away so I have to wake up at 6am (4am UK time). I had the option to live closer but the swimming pool (Photo above) helped make my decision. The Students have a mix of dance, music and theory lessons, however I am mainly participating in the dance classes which means I am in class with first, second and third years to allow me to do as much as possible. 


My first class was ballet which was quite a nice way in, as although it is certainly not my forte, it is the dance genre I can relate to most at The Turkish Folk Dance School. Although it was evident that the majority of the first years had never done ballet before, this didn't stop the teacher from going straight in at full pace. It was rather intense but still pretty enjoyable as it felt good to be dancing again after a long four months off!


It took a little time to get into the swing of being back in full time training. And starting to learn a completely new way of moving was more hard work than I may have initially anticipated. After a few of the classes I felt frustrated with my performance, but I have always been told I'm too hard on myself and I didn't feel like this for too long. By Wednesday afternoon my thighs were aching like never before and I struggled to walk (especially on stairs). I thought a nighttime swim would help ease the pain but 12 lengths later it was ten times worse! The folk dance class I enjoyed the most was Afyon, I'm not sure why, maybe because it was slightly easier than the others, so I didn't feel completely out of my comfort zone.


I took part in a photography/ film workshop for dancers. The class was really interesting and it was good to learn camera techniques and how to actually work a camera properly. This class was just theory but next week we will all be going out to take photos together. I'm surprised more dance courses don't offer this as it seems like a good subject area to support the arts based nature of contemporary dance. It also helps when it comes to carrying out research for assignments such as dissertations.