The full-length work, To dance or…, connects the story of a Romani belly dancer Can Ibo Shah from 16th century Istanbul with a gentrification project in Istanbul of a neighborhood populated by Romani people for centuries. The gentrification project as one of the most controversial projects, causing many protests against was conducted and completed by the government in 2010. Two dancers of 21st century Istanbul one as the teacher and the other as the student were connecting their performative presence with the story of a dancer of 16th century Istanbul and her teacher. The story was passed through history via the traditional storytelling (meddah). The artist is trying to find a new performative way to approach to the meddah, telling the story of Can Ibo Shah and her master Baba Nazli while the contemporary dancer is repeating the same abstract movement phrase that transforms and gains different meanings through the words in the story.
Choreographer: Ayrin Ersöz
Dancer: Canan Yücel Pekiçten
Premiered at 17th Istanbul Theatre Festival
Performed at Ballhaus Nounystrasse, Berlin,
İstanbul Salon IKSV, Festival Off Europa in Dresden and in Leipzig.
