March 05, 2004

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Publication Date: Friday, March 05, 2004

'Anatolian Spirit: The Journey of Dance'

Journey to Turkey next week via the Grup Yšre Folk Dance Ensemble, which will be performing at the Amador Theater. The Berkeley and Stanford-based group will be joined by dancers from Boston and from San Jose to present "Anatolian Spirit: The Journey of Dance."

"Folk dancing is part of the culture," said teacher and choreographer Cengiz GŸlek, a native of Turkey whose day job is director of Assessment and Evaluation for the Pleasanton school district. "It tells you about the lifestyles of these people, how they dealt with nature, animals, the joy after harvest."

Turkey has many diverse ethnic groups, he explained, which means different dances that reflect their distinctive ways of life.

"The Black Sea region has vertical mountains," said GŸlek. "It's right by the sea so the people are mostly fishermen there. When you look at their dances you see the symbolization of gulls on the sea, and waves and fish."

The Andiyaman region in the southeast is mostly mountains with a lot of agriculture. "Their dances symbolize events leading up to the harvest," said GŸlek.

The dances of the Thrace region, which is on the European continent, reflect the Balkan ethnic movements both in the dances and the costumes, he said.

The program opens with Ciftetelli dances, which originated in Istanbul, where Europe and Asia meet. These derive from folk dances that were transformed into a form of entertainment for the sultans during the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman Empire was in place for 600-700 years, prior to Turkish independence in 1923, explained GŸlek. The kings were called sultans as were their wives, he said, and the lady sultans would have parties with dancing.

"They selected dancers who would dance for her - or with her - and a new dance form emerged," said GŸlek. "It has a sense of joy and happiness, and is newer than the other forms."

Guest dancers from the Arkadash Turkish Folk Ensemble of San Jose will also perform, taking the audience to the Antep region in southeastern Turkey. Members of the Mavi Dance Company in Boston are taking part, too, combining traditional folk dance steps with modern stage techniques. GŸlek has danced with both of these troupes.

GŸlek, 36, said he began learning Turkish dance as an after-school activity as a sixth-grader in Turkey. He continued dancing in high school and college, and began to teach it to elementary students as community service.

He came to the United States in 1994 and studied for his doctorate at University of Iowa and Boston College. He joined the Mavi Dance Company in Boston.

GŸlek moved to Pleasanton in 2001 and joined the group in San Jose. Then he and some others founded Grup Yšre in Berkeley, where he teaches each Wednesday evening. Next he became connected with a Turkish graduate student association at Stanford and began to teach there also. Its practices are Tuesday nights.

"One of the reasons I picked a job in Pleasanton is the Bay Area is such a diverse community," he said. "There are a lot of different ethnic groups here."

The mission of Grup Yšre is to spark awareness of Turkey's rich culture through its dancing. Although Yšre dancers are mostly Turks, others can join the dance ensemble. For more information, e-mail grup_yšre@hotmail.com or call (408) 309-5529.

"We always have new members joining in," said GŸlek. "Some pick it up quickly. I make sure I address the pace of the person."

GŸlek is honored that his troupe was one of 24 chosen to participate in the San Francisco Dance Festival in June, organized by World Arts West. For more information, visit www.worldartswest.org.

But first he is looking forward to presenting the dances of his country to his neighbors in Pleasanton next week.
Ethnic dance comes to town

What: Anatolian Spirit: The Journey of Dance Who: Grup Yšre Folk Dance Ensemble When: 1 p.m., Sunday, March 14 Where: Amador Theater, 1155 Santa Rita Road Admission: $12 adults; $8 children under 9; $10 PUSD employees Tickets: Call Pam (650) 574-2201 or Cengiz, 398-0626 Information: www.anatolianspirit.org

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