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.