Four-City Tour of Turkey with Açik Dans

Thirteen years after I spent a year teaching at Mimar Sinan Conservatory in Istanbul, a former student, and now professor of dance, invited me to conduct a three-week teaching and performance residency. With funding from the American Embassy in Ankara, dancers Jennifer Lafferty, Rashaun Mitchell and Silas Riener we able to join me as we conducted master classes and performed excerpts of three dances in Antalya, Ankara, Eskisehir and Istanbul. The highlight of the tour was to return to Mimar Sinan and witness the growth of the program since my time on faculty. The program was only a few years old in 1998 and I taught 12 students all day, every day, in a small basement studio. Now, classes were filled with over 20 students and hosted in new state of the art studios that make any New Yorker jealous. Three of my former students have opened a small theater and we were able to perform there on our final day. It was gratifying to see the growth of the contemporary dance community and reflect on my small role in its history.