Based on my experiences and observations as a dancer, performer, researcher and culture manager, this article aims to shine a light on the performing-arts field, particularly on contemporary dance, in Turkey in the twenty-first century. Given the current political, social and economic shifts in Turkey, which have doubtless affected artistic practice and structures, it is important to draw attention to and explore the emerging players in the field of dance – dance institutions, producers, artists and audience. In addition, it is necessary to create awareness about the new generation's efforts to develop the field in relation to new organizational and partnership structures, shifting from a vertical hierarchy to autonomous and collective working models.
To begin with, it is useful to briefly summarize some important aspects of the contemporary dance field in Turkey. Certain major players such as universities, independent artist-based organizations and artists have been sustaining the field for decades. The main focus of performing-arts institutions, practitioners and audiences has been theatre and music, while museums and galleries have been more interested in visual arts, often leaving dance outside the scene. Nevertheless, the limited interest in dance has been changing in the last three to five years as venues and institutions have started to open their doors to performance art and contemporary dance projects. Among these, not only theatre venues, but also museums and arts and culture centres such as the Pera Museum, the Sakıp Sabancı Museum and SALT have started to include contemporary dance in their programmes. For example, the Pera Museum hosted several performances within the Yeniden Bak (Look Again) programme and the Moving Visegrad contemporary dance choreographic residency was held as a part of the third Visegrad-Turkish Culture Festival. Interest has been blossoming with the efforts of new-generation creative initiatives, as Atelier Muse, Performistanbul and individual cultural managers such as Edit Bapcanyova and artists like Cansu Ergin have strived to increase interest in dance.
The new generation of creative actors, who are mostly in their late twenties and early thirties today, focuses less on stable venue ownership and more on content development regarding performances, discourses, publications and workshops, and on audience development, aiming to reach beyond the committed communities and towards the peripheries in society. This shift of interest and focus can be defined as an instinctual resistance against the governance models dictating all levels of state and private institutions. As practitioners in the contemporary dance scene we aim to develop new areas to make our voice heard through more horizontal, non-hierarchical relationships and collaborative models rather than vertical hierarchies and competition.
I am the founder of the Atelier Muse creative initiative and I am also experienced in different organizational and business management roles in various sectors in addition to arts and culture. Here, I would like to share some of my experiences and observations concerning the contemporary dance field. Atelier Muse was built as a creative initiative that implements new approaches to the arts and culture field by carrying out interdisciplinary cross-sectoral projects. Atelier Muse adopts a global and collaborative point of view, with partners sharing the same vision of being present and actively productive in life. Among other projects, the Atelier Muse Residency Program, initiated in 2017, is the realization of my lifelong dream of adding value to life by coming together with people from artistic and non-artistic fields, exchanging knowledge and creativity with curiosity. While important figures in the art world such as Ulay (Frank Uwe Laysiepen) and artists from the independent performance scene were cancelling their trips to Turkey in 2016 due to frequent bomb attacks in central parts of Istanbul, I was planning to take action to redevelop the diversified, multicultural and colourful character of our geography. In 2017, we launched our first residency programme, Find Your Calling, addressing the residents of Istanbul and calling them to contribute to the project and to society with their unique value, perspective and voice. This year, we hosted artists from Pakistan and the USA, followed by Portuguese and French visiting artists. This was a motivational move for all the involved galleries, venues, artists and arts and culture managers as it showed that we were ready to rebuild our own country after and despite all diplomatic and political crashes. In the 2018 edition, we hosted artists from Germany as a result of the relationships I developed during my fellowship programme at the HAU Hebbel am Ufer, initiated by the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa). Throughout my fellowship in Berlin, it was interesting to exchange the promising news about the cultural scene in Turkey with people living in Germany, who have been exposed to destructive news about Turkey from certain media sources.
It is also important to note here that the quality of the works produced by artists in Turkey is visibly strong. As the very well-known dancers and choreographers of today, we can talk of Canan Yücel Pekiçten, Cansu Ergin and Gizem Aksu. The commonality among these successful artists is that they all have a diverse background other than dance. Pekiçten has a law degree, while Ergin graduated in biology and Aksu in international relations and politics. Hence I believe that knowing about or being educated in other disciplines brings about another kind of thinking process and contributes to the production of artworks from diverse perspectives. Pekiçten is an award-winning choreographer and dancer who bravely puts her know-how and feelings onstage in a continuous productive way. She was awarded first prize in the Solo Dance Contest at the Gdansk Dance Festival with her piece Der Zwerg. Ergin, also an award-winning choreographer and dancer, has trained generations of dancers, and is the founder of the Contemporary Dance Department in Dokuz Eylül University in Izmir. Her approach opens spaces not only for herself, but also for communities. Aksu is also a globally acknowledged choreographer and dancer who collaborates with other artists and choreographers such as Aydın Teker and Ah! Kosmos to develop and share her unique movement aesthetics.
A New Age performing arts festival, A Corner in the World, is another important player in the performing-arts and contemporary dance scene as it opens new spaces and gathers people together. The organizers started the festival in 2016. When they realized dancers’ interest in applications to the programme, dance again found a space for itself. Since then, for three seasons, A Corner in the World performing-arts festival, with a big contemporary dance presence, has been another space for performing-arts practitioners to come together and exchange ideas about the field and their practices.
Last but not least, writing about dance or dance criticism is a new, but crucial, part of the field both in Turkey and around the world in terms of audience development. Written pieces about dance performances and artists widen audiences’ knowledge about dance as culture, as an art form and as a political and social reflection. By creating a feedback mechanism about dance productions, dance criticism opens new spaces for dialogue between composers and audience, as well as between curators and audience. Such a space has not been common, if at all existent, in the field of dance in Turkey, unlike theatre and the visual and performing arts. This dialogic space is beneficial for the improvement of composers and productions. People who are interested in writing – such as researchers, journalists and dance audiences – take the initiative to create this space. They tend to call themselves dance writers rather than critics, which supports the sense and aim of collectivity as opposed to an authoritarian mindset. In Turkey, largely due to contributions by Edit Bapcanyova, Berna Kurt, Mehmet Kerem Özel and myself, dance writing has been developing, and deserves greater representation in mainstream publications.
To sum up, Turkey's contemporary dance scene has a strong new generation of structures and players who have a willingness to sustain the field through independent and collaborative efforts. From organizations and corporations to dancers, choreographers and audience, a generously productive and proactive generation such as the independent players I mentioned above is taking responsibility for building the future of dance in Turkey. These emerging artists offer their resources, knowledge and networks to support fellow artists, develop audiences and contribute to national and international culture. While their actions are making the future, it is our duty to raise awareness about, collaborate with and support young artists and arts initiatives.
