What is Turkish Belly Dance?
Aslahan in an approximation of Ottoman Turkish garb
Aslahan in modern Turkish Oryantal costume
Turkish-style Oriental dance (Oryantal or "belly dance") has much closer ties to its Romany (gypsy) roots than other styles of this dance, many of which show a greater influence from Western ballet and modern dance. Turkish dance is made distinctive by its lively steps, larger use of space, and the "sassy" attitude of the dancer. Hops, kicks, and the contrast of soft flowing arms with fiery hips are also hallmarks of the Turkish style.
How do I pursue studying Turkish dance?
Many oriental dance teachers who learned in the 70s can get you started in basic Turkish, but my personal experience has been that unless you live near one of the big names in Turkish style, learning it is self-driven: watch videos of dancers to get the feel of it, watch those videos again with your finger on the "pause" button to deconstruct the moves. Go to workshops and think about not just the steps you learn but the underlying characteristics of the style - the way the music is interpreted, the fluidity of the abdomen, the way the hips really release fully to the side in some moves in a way that Egyptian style doesn't have. And of course, listen, listen, listen to the music. The music will tell you what to do.
It's hard to get hold of good video of dancers from Turkey - the 80s and 90s unfortunately saw a lot of skimpy costume and suggestive dancing there, and these days most of the dancers dance to Arabic music.
What names should I look for?
Sema Yildiz of Turkey is spectacular - Eva Cernik sells some VHS tapes of Sema dancing, and you can find clips on youtube.
Artemis Mourat in the DC area is probably the best-known Turkish style dancer in the US. She's on some of the IAMED performance videos, and also sells her own videos on her website. She recently put out a Turkish style instructional DVD with IAMED that is basic but very solid and worth having. I can't wait to see some more advanced material from her. She's also a delight to study with.
New York has the fantastic Anahid Sofian - she was my introduction to real Turkish styling. Take a workshop with her if you can.
Most people know Dalia Carella of New York for her Dunyavi and Mundo styles, but she does fabulous pure Turkish Oriental also.
Eva Cernik out in Colorado is wonderful; her performance videos are very worth watching. You can get them from her website and she is also on several IAMED compilations.
If you're interested in Turkish Roman style there's Elizabeth Strong out in California - she tours and teaches internationally, and also has an excellent instructional DVD out.
And of course I can't mention Turkish Roman without mentioning the amazing Roma dancer Reyhan Tuzsuz. The majority of North American dancers who teach or perform Roman-style have studied with her. She and her student Delpha Reihs have put out an instructional DVD together.
Ahmet Luleci is a gifted teacher and performer of Turkish Roman and folkdance. My experience studying with him was a pleasure.
I have not taken classes with Tayyar Akdeniz, but he comes highly recommended for Turkish folkdance.
Where do I find good music?
Turku, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Ahmet Kusgoz, Selim Sesler, and Kemani Cemal are some of my favorites. Tulumba is a good place to dig around for music since you can listen to samples of a lot of their stuff online. They also have some video CDs of bellydancing that are only useful to see how bad it was in the 80s ;)
You'll find many of the song names look similar. Belly Dance New England magazine has published my Turkish Music Primer under their "Must Know Music" section.
Anything else on the web?
There's a group on Tribe for Turkish belly dance, although it is not very active: http://tribes.tribe.net/turkishstyle.
Know some additional resources? Feel free to email me :)
OK, Rom, Romani, Roman - what?
Many people don't realize that the term "gypsy" is offensive to many of this ethnic background. Rom, Romani, Romany, and Roma are all terms you will come across to refer to this group. To add to the confusion, if you buy CDs with Turkish song titles they will typically refer to Romany music as "Roman" although you're unlikely to encounter this term in English (too many people think of the city of Rome). Additionally, some subgroups (like the Sinti) consider themselves distinct from the Rom and prefer not to be called Rom.
Please Call Me Rom is an excellent article by a Rom man about the terms Roma and gypsy, the offensive slang term "gypped," and how damaging the cultural stereotypes are. I would encourage anyone who is interested in Turkish Rom dance to learn more about this group and to shun the romantic stereotypes often brought to the stage under the name "gypsy." This article is a good place to start.
For additional information on Turkish Roman dance I have an article here.
For more articles, check out my blog.