My dance life started at an early age, with classical ballet training. I could not stop my passion! I continued my training at Dilek Ballet School, Ozlem Odabasi Dance School and Art Academic Istanbul. At the age of 18 I decided to continue my dance education in academia. In 1998 I was accepted into the Modern Dance Program in the School of Art and Design in Istanbul's Yildiz Technical University (B.A.) While earning my Bachelor's degree I had the chance to work with both Turkish and international pioneering dance artists and choreographers such as Geyvan McMillen, Zeynep Tanbay, Kaya Ilhan, Ugur Seyrek, Oktay Keresteci, Nur Berkan, Aydin Teker, Beyhan Murphy, Prof. Alev Tokgoz, Prof. Nasuh Barin, Douglas Dunn, Grazia Dunn, Ismael Ivo, Nicole Caccivio, Helen Omand, Lutz Forster, Dominique Mercy, Paul Clayden, Juan D.K. Gariaesnaola, Gary Galbraith, Karen Potter, Tetsuro Fukuhara, Paul Ibey, Frey Faust, Edna Lima, David Dorfman, Lisa Race, Rebecca Lazier, Peter Kalivas, Suzanne Linke, David Zambrano, Bruce Taylor, Joe Alegado, Milton Myers, Mathew Hawkins, Hilke Diemer and Loretta Livingston...
In addition to my academic studies I attended national and international festivals as a dancer and a choreographer. A few of the places I trained include; Vienna: Impulstanz Festival, Germany: Pact/Zolverein, Holland: Rottherdam Dance Academy, Dance Festival, Turkey: International Dance Platform I / II - Ankara, METU Contemporary Dance Festival, Haci Bektas Festival - Cappadocia, Nevsehir, International Istanbul Dance and Music Festival, Aspat Ballet & Modern Dance Festival...
Between the years 2002 and 2004 I was the stage manager and assistant to well known Turkish modern dance choreographer Geyvan McMillen, working with her Istanbul-based company, Cemal Resit Rey Dance Theatre. I also danced in productions at the Istanbul State Theatre and between the years 1999 - 2004 I performed in Yildiz Technical University Dance Theatre Lab.
In 2004 I moved to southern California, USA, to begin a two-year M.F.A program in the Dance Department at the University of California, Irvine, with an emphasis in dance and technology. Additionally I was a graduate research assistant in costumes and video/multimedia, as well as a graduate teaching assistant in modern dance technique. In dance and technology field I have worked on dance for camera, motion capture technique, working with video fosuced on the green screen technique, live performance based on multimedia art such as telematic performance and active space projects by multimedia artist John Crawford.
During my two years at UCI I was able to work with many dance professionals on faculty, including Loretta Livingston, Lisa Naugle, Leslie Peck, Dianne Diefenderfer, Eloy Barragan, Israel (El) Gabriel, Gerri Houlihan, Donna Faye Burchfield, legend American dance artist Donald McKayle, and as well as media artist John Crawford and brilliant musician Alan Terricciano. Additionally, I built collaborations and associations with fellow UCI Dance M.F.A candidates and emerging American choreographers such as Deidre M. Cavazzi, Kara Miller, Jennifer Zmuda, Vindhya Warakagoda and Minerva Tapia.
I have had the good fortune to be able to continue my dance relationship with Los Angeles-based American choreographer Loretta Livingston, dancing in the extended cast of her 2005 site-specific choreography in Los Angeles," June Moon (Dressed in White)", as well as being a performer in her video project "Persuasion". I served as her assistant in Istanbul during the April 2007 Dance Camera Istanbul Festival.
My teaching experience includes positions as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of California, Irvine Dance Department (Irvine, CA-USA), Kabatas High School (Istanbul-Turkey), Eminonu Public Education Center - Community College (Istanbul-Turkey), Dance Academy (Istanbul-Turkey), Yildiz Technical University Primary School&Kindergarden (Istanbul-Turkey).
Currently I am a full time company member of "FULL RADIUS DANCE COMPANY"( http://fullradiusdance.org/ )and also completing both the "Core Dynamics" Pilates Teacher Training Certification Program and "Resistance Flexibility and Strength Training (RFST) & Meridian Flexibility System (MFS). I teach Pilates as a free-lance guest instructor at Roswell Dance Theatre, Atlanta, GA and at the "Body Awareness" pilates studio as an apprencite instructor. As a performing and multimedia artist I am interested in exploring, teaching, performing and learning more about modern dance technique and improvisation, as well as continuing to create dance and multimedia art collaborations.
I am very much excited to announce about the "Dance Camera Istanbul" international dance film festival which I am the director & festival USA coordinator and a proud member of Atlanta Turkish Arts Council.
