As vibrant as the music they dance to: Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal to swing through Istanbul
It became a theatrical dance form in 1930s musicals and variety shows
Founded as a school and then a performance company in 1970, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal has toured the globe presenting more than 1,800 performances in its 26-year history. Founded by Genevi ve Salbaing and Eva Von Gencsy in Montreal at the beginning of the revival of jazz dance, Les Ballets Jazz was one of the leaders in that field.
Originally appearing in the 1920s and 1930s in the United States, jazz dance developed out of the social dance practices associated with jazz music in New Orleans, Chicago and New York.
It became a theatrical dance form in 1930s musicals and variety shows. Jack Cole refined jazz for Broadway musicals in the mid-1930s, but it did not become the dominant form of musical theater dance until the 1950s, when stars like Gene Kelly and Jerome Robins began dancing and choreographing in the idiom for stage and film. Perhaps best known in the 1960s through the musical and film West Side Story, jazz dance remained the domain of musical theater or show dancing until the 1970s.
It took dancers like Gus Giordano in Chicago and Luigi in New York who, after years of experimentation, formulated personal techniques of jazz dance which were suitable for the concert stage. It is from this heritage that groups like Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal or the Hubbard Street Dance Company in Chicago emerged.
Both companies have put a strong emphasis on cross-training their dancers in a variety of dance techniques from modern dance and ballet to various techniques of jazz and tap dancing.
Five dominant techniques of jazz dance are taught in North America and Europe with countless other variations appearing all over the world. Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal will present a wide range of works by various choreographers from the company, all of which premiered within the last year.
Many of the company's past choreographers, such as Crystal Pite and James Kudelka, come from strong ballet backgrounds while others have come from Afro-Cuban and jazz backgrounds, as with Brazilian choreographer Rodrigo Pederneiras.
The current director and one of the choreographers whose work will be presented Monday and Tuesday nights, Yvan Michaud, is a Quebec-born Canadian who danced with major European companies in Munich, Geneva and Berlin. He joined Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal in 1987, becoming its leader in 1995. In a recent interview with John Charles, Michaud expressed his deep feelings for the company.
This is an incredible group to work with, they're disciplined and deeply understanding, and they have such a wide range of background and stylistic expertise. His approach to the repertory for the coming years will focus on their unique ..
. musical choices which will be drawn now from jazz music of the last decade to assure that it [the company] remains 'contemporary' fulfilling the company's credo: We are jazz, in all its forms. The music and its derivatives, that approach and philosophy.
Les Ballets Jazz has created works for jazz greats such as Duke Ellington, Keith Jarrett, Django Bates, Alex Tsisserev, Astor Piazzola and Michel Portal. The last will provide music for a collective choreography which opens Les Ballets Jazz's program in Istanbul with five different pieces, two choreographed by Michaud himself. Two other pieces, Circle Songs from July 1998 by Shawn Hounsell with music by Bobby McFerrin and Circuit from 1997 by Giocondo Barbuto with music by Django Bates, finish the evening's program.
The combination of jazz and popular music has been wedded to the diverse backgrounds of the dancers to keep the repertory lively and fresh. Unlike other companies that have fused jazz dance with modern dance or ballet (not always successfully), Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal kept its focus on the musical relationship of jazz music and jazz dance to keep the idiom clear. Michaud's professed mission of keeping jazz dance current and developing should help ensure the independence of jazz dance as a concert performance movement style.
The evening promises to be explosive and energizing with Les Ballets Jazz's long reputation of innovative performances.
Les Ballets Jazz and Compania Lirical la Zarzuela are part of a new approach by Yapi Kredi to extend the festival season in Istanbul beyond its last spring and summer months. Yapi Kredi began supporting the literary, fine and performing arts in Turkey in the late 1940s; recently it consolidated its artistic enterprises into a company unto itself.
Under the general management of Ozal Birol, Yapi Kredi Culture, Art and Publications Ltd. is responsible for managing the two art galleries, museum, library, publishing house and performing arts sponsorship (including the two performing arts festivals) for the bank. This change in status, which took place in 1996, seems to be a growing trend in Turkey.
Borusan Culture and Art Company (see last Sunday's Turkish Daily News cultural supplement for details) and Yapi Kredi Culture, Art and Publications Ltd. are helping to change the cultural climate of Istanbul. Both are located in Beyoglu between Galatasaray and T nel (Old Pera) and are in a position to revitalize the arts and downtown center at the same time.
Borusan's and Yapi Kredi's dedication to publishing works on the fine and performing arts, written in Turkish or translated into Turkish, will greatly aid students, artists, scholars and interested spectators to further their knowledge and appreciation of local and foreign cultural activities. With independent presses, libraries and galleries open to the public, the arts can and should really flourish in Turkey. The revitalization of Old Pera with the planned remodeling of Yapi Kredi at Galatasaray, the expansion of Borusansanat and the building of a music performance space by Pozitif in Tunel will lead to an arts district in Istanbul, which this writer hopes will encourage a public space where artists, intellectuals and people in search of new forms of expression can congregate.
A stroll through the side streets of Tunel will testify to the burgeoning community of artists and cafes leading the way.
Yapi Kredi's recent decision to extend its support to provide performance events throughout the year is a most welcome and needed improvement for the arts community here. In the past the performance season has been primarily limited to May through early September and has focused on the highly acclaimed International Festivals of Film, Music and Theater.
Now, Istanbul audiences can get into the mind frame of having live performances available to them throughout the year -- a much needed change in our social and cultural life here.
One can expect to see a greater involvement by the universities in Istanbul and Ankara in developing, promoting and assimilating the fine and performing arts in Turkey, but it has taken the dedicated sponsorship of private industries to open a space for this. Yapi Kredi's recognition of the need to have a national and international cultural program as well as a financial one to secure the future of Turkey should be of great benefit to the nation and the city.
Compania Lirical la Zarzuela presented Antologia de la Zarzuela last Wednesday and Thursday to an enthusiastic, but slightly confused, audience at the favored summer venue for performance, Cemil Topuzlu Open Air Theater. Performances start late to allow for darkness to set in and improve the lighting conditions. This meant with la Zarzuela quite a late night.
Choreographer Jose Tamayo and his ensemble of almost 50 performers presented an anthology, or miniature history, of Spanish musical theater traditions dating from the 17th century until contemporary times.
The show is based on a baroque performance spectacle created by Pedro Caledr?n de la Barca with music by Juan de Hildalgo for King Philip IV of Spain and his queen, Mariana.
The title La Zarzuela comes from the name of the king's hunting lodge where traveling performers entertained the court while it was on hunting expeditions.
As presented by Compania Lirical, last Wednesday's performance was a delightful mixture of classical and traditional music and dance forms from Spain. Like an evening of tapas, La Zarzuela was composed of many small vignettes loosely tied together with a fanciful narration by King Philip IV and Queen Mariana.
The opening scenes introduced the best known theatrical forms of Spanish dance to the audience.
Istanbulites were initially disturbed by the use of the Spanish language for all of the dialogue, but became enthusiastic and more comfortable with a very strong display of flamenco dancing. As with all of the vignettes, the flamenco was precisely choreographed and executed.
This viewer felt the audience's understanding of Spanish dance was entirely based on flamenco dancing. Early on, the company danced a flashy bolero and the more refined bale. The numerous costume changes which accompanied each scene represented, as did the dance and music, different regions and historical periods in Spain.
The performers were well trained in their disciplines, with the singers demonstrating their strong operatic backgrounds, while few of the dancers had such classical training in ballet. The orchestra consisted of a chamber ensemble playing symphonic instruments and performers on stage playing traditional instruments. The dancers contributed to the musical accompaniment with their articulate handling of castanets.
La Zarzuela definitely has appeal for those who want to be entertained and educated in Spanish musical and dance traditions. For those who missed last weeks performances, Yapi Kredi still offers a taste of Hispanic culture with Vicente Amigo's Flamenco Guitar Group and Juan Carlos Caceres' Tango and Latin Music concert this next weekend.
NELLEKE M.
v.d. SCHOOR-BASAR Relations between Turkey and Israel have never been better.
This week Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz, on his three-day tour of the Middle East, visited Jerusalem, and while at a reception given at the King David Hotel he was introduced the world-renowned Jewish painter Shlomo Bovete.
Ankara art lovers will remember Bovete for his recent exhibition held in Ankara in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Turkish Republic. Through his paintings, Bovete took us back to his childhood in Istanbul's Kuzguncuk.
Although he left Turkey at the young age of 16, Bovete never forgot the country of his birth, returning as frequently as possible. To date Bovete has had six solo exhibitions in both the United States and Israel.
It is our greatest wish that Bovete will open an exhibition in Istanbul; however in the near future his admirers will be able to enjoy his latest exhibit which will take place on Sept.
26 in Israel. This exhibition is under the patronage of H.E.
Barlas Ozener, ambassador of Turkey to Israel.
This year's fair called MIDEM Latin America, Caribbean '98 was held at Miami Beach and recently ended. Turkey was represented by Cemre Music at the festival. Established in 1992, Cemre Music participated in this giant organization with classical and mystical Turkish music pieces.
Its performance aroused great interest.
Cemre Music made itself known in the world for the first time by participating in the MIDEM fair in Cannes between January 18-22, 1998. With the French experience having been a success, it next performed in Latin America.
Cemre Music was represented in Miami by general director Ilhan Disli and a four-member team, establishing cultural exchanges with a number of countries and introducing 35 new pieces to be released worldwide.
As the ambassador of Turkish culture, the firm had first participated in the international music fair in Tiblisi in September, 1997. Cemre Music later took part in the Womex '97 fair in Marseilles, the Moers festival in Germany and the Inn Tone jazz music festival in Austria.
The company makes an important contribution to Turkish culture by resuscitating our musical heritage and introducing it to the world. Currently, it works both as an organizer of musical events and a distributor of music.
Cemre Music's director Disli recently returned from the MIDEM fair in the United States.
He said that having participated in the fair in France, the company was better prepared this time around in Miami. He summarized his impressions with the following: The French experience showed us that Turkish music had never been marketed anywhere in the world in such a way that it could reach foreign audiences. We took this point into consideration when we went to Latin America.
We thought that Miami would be a meeting place for various kinds of ethnic music, and we tried to promote authentic Turkish pieces. Our catalogues contained mystical and ethnic pieces from the classical Turkish music repertory. We offered a wide range of information in our catalogues, and tried to reach people through the written.
The most important characteristic of this kind of fair is the promotion of cultural exchange and the encounter of music producers who were previously unaware of each other's music. Disli suggests that this was the main benefit of this experience for him.
There was music from countries that I had never heard about before.
In Miami, I was introduced to their music and had the opportunity to listen to it carefully. In this way, I deepened my knowledge about a number of other countries and their music. The same thing was true with respect to Turkey.
Our exemplary recordings gave them a new idea about Turkish music.
Ilhan Disli said that they had obtained a number of new licences in the United States, and that they now wanted to broaden the scope of their work. From now on, Cemre Music's goal will be twofold.
The company will not only seek to add new pieces to its repertory of authentic Turkish music but to introduce Turkish audiences to foreign music. In this way, Cemre Music brings world music to Turkey and promotes Turkish music abroad, preserving its financial integrity. In this way, the group continues to serve as Turkey's cultural ambassador.
Through a number of television, radio and press interviews, Disli successfully promoted Turkey in Latin America. Through a cable channel called Jazz TV, 60 million Americans listened to the music of Turkey, a country which they might have been unable to locate on a map before. Disli had a few interesting experiences during the fair, about which he had the following to say: An Italian journalist came and asked what we were doing here.
Our response was, 'We participated in MIDEM because we wanted to introduce Turkish music to the world.' Her answer was, 'Who on earth would be interested in your music?' We then told her that just a little while ago, we had signed a distribution agreement with the Italian Amitai Media SRL.
'This indicates that there is a group of people in Italy that is interested in our music,' we said.
Another interesting comment came from an American woman, a critic who noticed our nationality when she read the names on our badges. She said, 'This is beautiful music.
I have been coming to this kind of fair for years, but I never heard Turkish music before. I would like to have some samples of your music. I want to write about it in my newspaper.
' Next, she asked us for an interview.
However, except for such isolated incidents, we never met anyone who had heard the word 'Turk,' neither in our hotels nor when we were taking cabs. We, as Turks, think that everyone knows us, but in downtown Miami, this is absolutely wrong.
You think about the fact that Tansu Ciller, the former Prime Minister of Turkey, owns a mansion there. Singer Sibel Can has a large house there. But still, no one seems to know where you are from.
This is very sad. Imagine what a sensation it would cause if an American president owned a house in Ardahan..
. Let alone the fact that America is known by people all over the world. When people have heard of us, it is either as an enemy of Greece, or a country not far from Syria and Iraq, which Americans keep shelling.
When we mentioned Turkey and the sea in a camera store, all they could say was 'Yes, Ibrahim Tatlises has a very good voice.'
During the limited time we spent in Miami, Cemre Music tried to promote Turkey to the world and make our music available to worldwide audiences. It also signed a number of license and distribution agreements.
Most important was the agreement with Trubach Digital, distributor of the chain stores Virgin and FNAC that have branch offices all over Europe, America, Asia and in Hong Kong. As a result of this agreement, the Turkish stand they will set up at the end of October will include the entire production of Cemre Music.
Ilhan Disli adds that Cemre Music made bilateral distribution and license agreements with 12 firms from Argentina, France, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Brazil.
The most important agreement is the one with Trubach Digital and the opportunity to promote our products worldwide. In addition, we signed agreements with Amiate Media SRL, which is one of Italy's top-ranking firms, the well-known Canadian firm Tandem Music, which directs its efforts toward new age and ethnic music, Bertus Music of the Netherlands and MCD World of Brazil. In addition, we agreed that Cemre Music and the following firms would grant one another distribution rights: Disgal S.
A. of Argentina, Trinity Enterprises of Japan, Biton Handel of Switzerland, and Socadisc, Discover and Special Productions of France.
The most important characteristic of MIDEM fairs that take place three times a year in France, Latin America and Asia are their emphasis on new productions.
The participating firms display only their latest work at these fairs. This music market, which furnishes a meeting place for world music in particular, provides an opportunity for various countries to promote their music worldwide and to introduce the host countries to different kinds of music. Cultural exchange has a very important place in MIDEM's philosophy, as the organization sees itself as a cultural rather than commercial organization.
Cemre Music was able to sign agreements with firms that had no prior knowledge about Turkey. In explaining the secret of this feat, Ilhan Disli said the following:
They come and ask us for samples, listen to them, and then say that this music, which is completely new to them, is indeed really great. Later, they say that they want to sign licence agreements with us.
Asking for a license indicates a high level of interest. They take our licence rights in the belief that our work is authentic Turkish music and has archival value.
Cemre Music went to Latin America with 35 pieces, since MIDEM provided an excellent opportunity to promote its music.
The firm will follow the same strategy in introducing the rest of its 120 productions to the world. Thirty-five pieces were released at MIDEM in Miami Beach, and Cemre Music plans to attend the Womex Music Fair to be held in Sweden on September 29 with 29 new pieces. Some of these pieces were recorded on 12 inch records that were saved from oblivion only at the last instant, and were digitally recorded as CDs.
With one more international fair behind them, Cemre Music has no intention of slowing down. The firm already started preparations for new fairs to be organized in a number of countries. Future plans include developing its present repertory, releasing the new pieces until the end of September both in Turkey and worldwide, and participating in the ethnic, mystical and country music fair to be organized in Stockholm in October.
Cemre Music will also take place in the following music fairs: MIDEM '99 in Cannes, MASA '99 between February 20-27 in Africa, MIDEM '99 in Asia in May (last year this fair was cancelled because of the economic crisis), the Inn Tone Festival in Austria, and finally, MIDEM '99, which will take place in Miami Beach in August.
'Yahya Kemal: A Portrait of the Republican Poet as a Solitary Figure'
--end tdn newsheader--> Until Sept. 30, work and artifacts of the famous Turkish poet Yahya Kemal will be displayed at the Vedat Nedim Tor Museum in the Yapi Kredi Culture Center. Organized by Yapi Kredi Culture and Art Publications, the purpose of the activity is to commemorate Yahya Kemal on the 40th anniversary of his death and to introduce him to a new generation.
The exhibition includes the poet's writings, some unpublished letters and poetry manuscripts, as well as some personal belongings that were made available for this event by the Yahya Kemal Museum. What emerges from this exhibit is a portrait of the poet as a solitary person. A life spent by himself in hotel rooms, coupled with the refined sensitivity of his character, helped to underscore Yahya Kemal's profound loneliness.
Acarkent joins in the spirit of the 75th anniversary celebrations of the Turkish Republic. On Oct. 17, there will be a special musical evening including the singing of Muazzez Ersoy.
Other participants will be well-known composer and singer Zekai Tunca and Ercument Batanay and his group.
The same night will also witness the opening of Acarkent, one of Istanbul's biggest satellite town projects.
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Workshop to be held at Pamukbank Photography Gallery
On Tuesday, September 16 at 17:00, Greenfield will lead a workshop at the Ataturk Culture Center, where Turkish ballet performers Tan Sagturk, Canan Sadalak and Bahar Vidinlioglu will also be present.
Open to everyone interested in photography, the workshop will include a talk by Greenfield and a slide show focusing on her unique talent for flawlessly capturing the free movement and form of the human body. Greenfield's talk will cover several issues.
She will recount the evolution of her personal style since the time she started dance photography as a photojournalist and the development of her views on photography. She will also explain how she integrates her artistic endeavors with photo- and advertisement journalism.
The workshop seeks to demonstrate that a dance photographer can do more than reflect the choreography of a performance.
As Greenfield's work shows, she can also convey her unique perspective through her direction of the dancers.
NELLEKE M.
v.d. SCHOOR-BASAR It is very hard to find one's niche in such a competitive world as that of television, especially in Ankara, because most major Turkish TV stations have their main offices in Istanbul.
However this obstacle did not stop Minya Oktem from trying to change her career to one in television. After many years of hard work in the State Theater, she achieved her dream of becoming a presenter on television.
From a very early age, Oktem showed great interest in the world of entertainment.
She played an active roll in the theater beginning in 1981, when she joined the Ankara Radio Children's Hour, which she continued until 1984, when she entered a new phase of her career by dubbing many well-known radio plays for Turkish Radio and Television (TRT).
Oktem entered Hacettepe University State Conservatory's Department of Theater in 1985, from which she graduated in 1989. Upon her graduation she became part of the State Theater, playing an active role in many important plays.
Oktem, who constantly wanted to enhance her profession, did not get the satisfaction she was hoping for in the theater, so she started to look at television for a more gratifying career. She began her apprenticeship at TRT in 1994 as an assistant to director/producer Seynan Levent. Together they worked on a news program called Towards the Evening.
From this Oktem was promoted to news reporter for the same TV station.
Because of her ability to adapt quickly, Oktem was in great demand by other channels. To develop that talent she moved to a private channel, ETV, where she has become a presenter for a twice weekly arts and culture program.
When asked about her future plans Oktem said that she still has so much to learn and that she just takes it a day at a time.
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