About Onur Topal Sumer

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.



FULL RADIUS DANCE NOW HAS A COMPANY BLOG!!!

We are off to our Italy tour!!! :)

http://fullradiusdance.blogspot.com/

Posted by Onur Topal Sumer

FULL RADIUS DANCE 2009 SPRING CONCERT

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FULL RADIUS DANCE COMPANY



Full Radius Dance is a modern dance company that presents mature, choreographically complex works celebrating technique and physicality. Our focus is on skill and artistry; that some of the dancers use wheelchairs is secondary. The wheelchair may lend additional movement possibilities to the choreography, but is not the focal point of the work. Founded in 1990, Full Radius Dance, originally known as Dance Force, Inc. is one of only a handful of physically-integrated dance companies in the United States.

Posted by Onur Topal Sumer

Workshop Announcement

Hi,

I will be teaching for two weeks of intensive workshop series for the "Roswell Dance Theatre Company" at the "Tolbert Yilmaz School of Dance" Atlanta, GA. The classes will be offered in both modern dance and pilates techniques.

Dates:

August 4,5,6,7,8 2008 - 5pm to 6:30pm (younger company members) / 6:30pm to 8pm (older company members)

August 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 - 5pm to 6:30pm (younger company members) / 6:30pm to 8pm (older company members)


For more information please call 770.998.0259

Posted by Onur Topal Sumer

My New Certification


I am very excited to announce that I have completed the Level 1 "Resistance Flexibility and Strength Training (RFST) and Meridian Flexibility System (MFS) Certification" program. Through this continuing certification system I have opened up myself into a whole new perspective and understanding discipline on the use of body and (no)limitations.

RFST system offers immediate, cumulative, and permanent increases in flexibility; takes the pain out of stretching, and protects you from injuring yourself by over-stretching and MFS provides stretches for 16 unique muscle groups with concomitant physiological and psychological benefits.

For detailed information I would kindly suggest you to read "The Genius of Flexibility by Bob Cooley © 2005" or visit the following website.
http://www.meridianstretching.com/

I am very happy to having the chance to add this vocabulary in my own teaching techniques and to my philosophy in order to create lifelong healthier bodies in all ages.

Posted by Onur Topal Sumer

FULL RADIUS DANCE COMPANY "SIDESHOW" CONCERT, 2008


The Facts
What: “Sideshow” Full Radius Dance in Concert

When: Friday, June 6 at 8:00 PM & Saturday, June 7 at 2:00/8:00 PM

Where: 7 Stages Theatre, 1105 Euclid Avenue, NE (Little Five Points)

Tickets: $15.00 for Adults, $12.00 for Seniors, Children 12 & under, and

$8.00 for Groups of 10 or more

Contact: For information/reservations, call 404-724-9663

ATLANTA - - The physically-integrated (dancers with and without disabilities) modern dance company Full Radius Dance returns to 7 Stages (1105 Euclid Avenue, NE in Atlanta, Georgia) on June 6 and June 7, 2008 for ‘Sideshow’. The company will be in performance each evening at 8:00 PM, along with a Saturday matinee at 2:00 PM.

On the program will be dance works featuring the pioneering technique and innovative partnering for which Full Radius Dance is noted:

The title work Sideshow – a quartet inspired by the ‘freaks and human oddities’ of the carnival sideshow.
Sentire – an examination of dependence, independence and interdependence. (Sentire, meaning perceive, feel, or know is the Latin root for the word ‘sense’).
Giants in the Sky- an allegorical dance about the fear, and reward, of the unknown.
Fluff – a light as air romp through sunny hits of 1960s pop music.
Tickets for the performance are $15.00 for adults, $12.00 for seniors 55 & over and children 12 & under, and $8.00 for groups of 10 or more. To make a reservation, or for more information, please contact Full Radius Dance at 404-724-9663 or via email at FullRadiusDance@aol.com. Reservations may also be made at www.fullradiusdance.org.

Full Radius Dance is a modern dance company that presents mature, choreographically complex works celebrating technique and physicality. Additionally, the company has a desire to share the talents of dancers who have disabilities with the mainstream audience. The organization was initially founded by Douglas Scott in 1991 as a modern dance company called Dance Force, Inc. In 1993, a new focus developed when Douglas began working with dancers with disabilities. In 1995, Douglas and Ardath Prendergast founded E=motion, a company created with the specific intention of working with dancers with disabilities. In 1998, E=motion and Dance Force combined to create Full Radius Dance.

Full Radius Dance is supported, in part, by the City of Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs, the Fulton County Commission under the guidance of the Fulton County Arts Council, and the Georgia Council for the Art. The Council is a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Media Contact

Douglas Scott

404-724-9663 (office) or 404-895-8232 (cell)

FullRadiusDance@aol.com

Posted by Onur Topal Sumer

MODERN ATLANTA DANCE FESTIVAL 2008

Modern Atlanta Dance Festival
March 1 & 2 • 8:30 PM (3/1) & 7:30 PM (3/2)

MJCCA Zaban Park

*The 2008 Modern Atlanta Dance Festival Performances:

Zoetic Dance Ensemble presents choreographer Candess Giyan’s “I Bought,” which examines disconnect between technology and emotion.
Kathleen Wessel’s “Glacial Ornaments” is inspired by research gleaned from the experiences of women in the Victorian Age –- corseted dainty socialites on the outside, but seething firecrackers inside.
In “Lost and Found,” choreographed by Charlotte Foster, SIDEWAYS Contemporary Dance Company explores journeys through isolation and loneliness, finding connections and peace.
Good Moves Consort presents choreographer Michelle Mora’s “Fish Out of Water,” inspired by the people, places and experiences she encountered while on a journey to Peru, where she did, indeed, feel “totally like a fish out of water.”
Gregory Catellier’s “Of Kiltering” concerns balance, both static and dynamic, and concentrates on the concepts of the stability and instability of both the individual and the group.
Brooks Emanuel Dance Company makes its festival debut with “Vine,” a duet reflecting how relationships develop and change.
Festival host Full Radius Dance will premiere “Giants in the Sky,” an allegorical dance about the fear and reward of the unknown.
This exciting festival offers performance opportunities to individual artists and dance companies in Metropolitan Atlanta. The MAD Festival, first presented in 1995, is Atlanta’s only professionally adjudicated modern/contemporary dance event. More than fifty different metro-Atlanta individual artists and/or companies have been presented on the MAD Festival stage.

Tickets:
Adults: $15 / $13 MJCCA Members
Children*: $12 / $9 MJCCA Members
*18 mo. & younger free. 1/2 price for 13 & under.

Advance ticket purchases are encouraged as seating is limited.

To purchase tickets, please call 770.395.2654

Posted by Onur Topal Sumer

FULL RADIUS DANCE COMPANY PERFORMANCE

I will be performing on next Monday.... hoping to see you all with us...

What
Performance at North Metro 1st Baptist Church
When
Mon Feb 11 6:45pm – Mon Feb 11 7:15pm
Wheremap
North Metro 1st Baptist Church
Created By
Full Radius Dance
Description
Performance for AGAPE, a respite program for families of individuals with developmental disabilities.

http://www.fullradiusdance.org/

Posted by Onur Topal Sumer

"WHISPERING MEDUSA" 2006 Part 1 - A Multimedia Dance Work

Choreographed, directed and edited by Onur Topal Sumer
Project Mentors: Alan Terricciano, Loretta Livingston and John Crawford
Dancers: Whitney Cover, Ashley Gomez, Deidre M. Cavazzi, Noelle Snavely, Danielle Ricci and featuring video performer Seyda Sofuoglu
Original Music: Tolga Unaldi, Utku Sillier and Nature Sounds
Originally produced by the Dance Department, Claire Trevor School of the Arts, University of California, Irvine



"WHISPERING MEDUSA" PART 2



"WHISPERING MEDUSA" PART 3



"WHISPERING MEDUSA" PART 4

Posted by Onur Topal Sumer

"MISADAKRA" 2004

Concept, Choreography & Performance: Onur Topal - Sumer
Video Performance: Sernaz Demirel, Onur Topal - Sumer
Video: Gokhan Susler, Alper Erhan
Music: "Twisted Nerve" (Kill Bill) & Betka Fislova

Originally produced by Yildiz Technical University Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall May, 2004 Istanbul, Turkiye

Posted by Onur Topal Sumer

"UTOPIA" 2005

Choreography & Video: Onur Topal - Sumer
Dancers: Daniel Ricci, Elisa Roe, Joshua Marin-Hepfl, Jennifer Peterson, Marc Nunez, Sally Cho, Sharon Joyce Kung

Originally produced by University of California, Irvine - New Slate Graduate Concert 2005

Posted by Onur Topal Sumer

Photo by Onur Topal Sumer, Performer: Ashley Gomez

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"Whispering Medusa"






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Some visual images from the process of "Whispering Medusa"

Photography by Onur Topal Sumer





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