Modern dance in Turkey with Geyvan McMillen “Yıldız Technical University Dance Program, Cemal Reşit Rey Dance Theater Company and Istanbul Dance Theater Company”

Abstract

Geyvan McMillen, who has made great contributions to the development of modern dance in Turkey, apart from her activities in State Opera and Ballets, has established her own independent companies and staged her own choreographies in every period of her life. For the sake of revealing the quality of movement she desires to use in her choreographies, Geyvan McMillen has given great importance to the technical training of her dancers. Based on bodies taught in line with these techniques, she has provided her choreographies with distinctive genuineness. Considering technical education and original production as integral, Geyvan McMillen has established the Yıldız Technical University Art and Design Faculty Dance Program in 1998 in line with this vision. This program is significant in terms of the artist’s artistic journey. In 2002, she has founded the first professional ensemble, Cemal Reşit Rey Dance Theater Company, made up of students trained under the technique she has developed. In 2005 the artist has further founded and directed the Istanbul Dance Theater Company. This article summarizes Geyvan McMillen's contributions to the art of dance in Turkey and the most important outputs of her art vision; namely the university program she has introduced and her work with independent groups she has founded in the 2000s.

Keywords

• Geyvan McMillen
• Modern Dance
• Turkey
• Dance History
• Choreography

References

1. Altunok, Ö., (2006). Life is within the Movement, Cumhuriyet Sunday Interview, 2 July 2006, number 1058.
2. Atmaca, E., (2006). Questioning Turkey’s Privacy, Radikal Newspaper Culture / Art, 13 June 2006.
3. Bay, Y., (2006). Interview: Istanbul Dance Theater in Venice, Milliyet Newspaper Art, June 2006, Istanbul.
4. Deleon, J., (1990). Turkish Ballet in the Republican Period, Boğaziçi University, Istanbul.
5. Demirel, Temel S., & Temel, T., (2021). First Steps of Modern Dance in Turkey, Eurasian Academy of Sciences Eurasian Art and Humanities Journal, 14, 27-43.
6. McMillen G., (2002). A Post-Republican Dance Art Department Proposal for a Modern Art Museum to be established in Turkey. Master’s Thesis, YTU Social Sciences Institute Art and Design Department Museology Program.
7. State Opera and Ballet General Directorate Special Publication, (2010). Turkish Ballet in its 60th Year, T.C. Culture and Tourism Ministry State Opera and Ballet General Directorate, 2nd Edition.
8. Temel T., (2006). What happened to CRR Dance Theater Company?, Sempatik Dance, Monthly Dance Culture and Body Arts Journal, 4, 42-43. Istanbul.

9. This article was compiled from interviews with Geyvan McMillen in 2020 and the personal notes of Geyvan McMillen. For photographs and visuals, the personal archives of Geyvan McMillen, Tan Temel and Sernaz Demirel Temel were used.
10. Web References
11. www.torkdans.com
12. www.istanbuldanstiyatrosu.com
13. http://dilaraakay.com/tr/
14. http://tomuratagok.com/biyografi.php?l=en
15. http://www.sts.yildiz.edu.tr/sayfa/1/Hakkımızda/85
16. YTÜ Library Catalog, Master Thesis of Geyvan McMillen http://yordam.ktp.yildiz.edu.tr/yordambt/yordam.php?sayfa=sayfaArama&aDemirbas=0005792 https://www.lcds.ac.uk/lcds-homepage
17. https://www.princeton.edu/news/2009/05/11/internationally-renowned-artists-appointed-head-lewis-center-programs
18. https://www.folkwang-uni.de/home/tanz/izt/geschichte/lutz-foerster
19. https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arda_Aydoğan
20. https://ekitap.ktb.gov.tr/TR-80133/mdt-doguyor.html
21. http://istanbuldanstiyatrosu.com/index.php
22. https://kultur.istanbul/kultur-a-s/
23. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100014571
24. https://www.labiennale.org/en/dance/2021
25. https://www.labiennale.org/en/biennale-college
26. https://www.pippabacca.it/category/sposa-in-viaggio/
27. https://nl.linkedin.com/company/bodies-anonymous
28. https://www.iksv.org/en/
29. https://tiyatro.iksv.org/en/awards/honorary-awards