Muğla

Every Monday morning after an intense Ballet class, I take Muğla lessons with the third year dance students. Muğla is a southern province of Turkey, and the area I am most familiar with as I have a lot of family there. One of the teachers for Muğla is the oldest teacher at the Conservatoire. I wouldn't like to guess his age but it is clear he is much older than the others. However, he has so much energy and is such a fantastic dancer. He has such high stamina and can out dance all the young students. Also what I like about his classes is often at the end, he will show us videos of some of his own research that he has collected over the years, of dancers and musicians out in the villages. It's great to experience the dance and music first hand and find out where it originates from, and how it is traditionally performed. In this class we have learnt Fethiye and Ölüdeniz dances, which is the town in which I lived for a year and a half when I was seven, and I still visit family there every year. I really enjoyed learning these dances as I felt like I already had some kind of connection with them. 

Ruins in the mountain, Fethiye.

Fethiye harbour by night.

Ölüdeniz beach, Fethiye.

In yesterdays lesson one of the third year male students had received his notice for military service. In Turkey, military service is compulsory for all male citizens, with a few exceptions. The duration has recently been lowered from 18 months to 14 months. Usually if you are in undergraduate study you can postpone it until you have finished, unless you are 29 years or older. Unfortunately this student is 29, and although he tried to appeal, he has been told he must complete his military service now. I could tell he was so distraught at having this news and you can't blame him. He is in the middle of his third year of studying a four year dance course and he now has to leave. Even if he was to return he wouldn't be able to graduate for another four years, with 14 months military service and then third and fourth year to complete. I'm not even sure if this is an option for him. I feel so bad for him and as a dancer I can't imagine anything worse than being told you have to leave your course and you won't be able to dance for 14 months. And there isn't even anything that can be done to prevent it. I'm sure anyone with that much passion for their art form would feel the same!