Festival Hot Seat: KAYA
Ceyda Tanc, artistic director and founder of Brighton-based dance theatre company Ceyda Tanc Dance, tells us about her brand new work, KAYA.
Firstly, can you introduce your show and tell us what it is about?
KAYA is a contemporary dance work with influence of traditional Turkish folk dance, the dance style of my heritage. The piece explores human experiences of displacement, drawing on the strength and resilience of those searching for a sense of belonging within a new community.
How and where will the work be staged?
The work will be performed at the Theatre Royal on Monday 14th May at 8pm. As a Brighton based company we are really excited to be bringing our work to such a prestigious venue.
Why should someone come and see your show?
We try to create work that is accessible for all, not just the regular theatre goers and contemporary dance audiences. We hope that people can relate to the human issues explored in the work, link to their own experiences or gain an increased awareness of the different cultural influences within their own communities.
Where did the idea and inspiration come from?
The work is based on the village of Kaya in Turkey where I spent a lot of time as a child. The village was home to a Greek community and in 1925 they were forcefully evacuated from their homes resulting in a Turkish/Greek exchange and leaving the village as a ‘ghost town’.
Through my father's anthropological research, and my time spent living in Kaya as a child, I became increasingly interested in exploring this further within my work.
Why do you think it’s an important story to tell?
Nearly a hundred years on from the forced displacement of people from Kaya, Turkey is at the epicentre of the Syrian Refugee Crisis, holding over 3.2 million Syrian refugees. I was compelled to make a work that will provoke audiences to reflect on the global scale of displacement prevalent today.
What sort of person is going to love this show?
Hopefully anyone and everyone, whether they are a contemporary dance fan or it is their first experience. I aim to make dance work which is accessible for people of all ages and backgrounds, to provide an inclusive way for audiences to interact with dance and find common ground with others in their community.
What’s going to surprise people about this show?
We have developed a unique movement vocabulary, which fuses traditional Turkish folk dance and contemporary dance styles. I aim to challenge gender stereotypes by utilising the virtuoso movements of male Turkish dancers on female bodies.
What does Brighton Festival mean to you?
Having grown up in Brighton, May has always been a really exciting time with so much opportunity to see great art work in and around the city. It’s a brilliant chance to experience a variety of work from different artists and to try something new.
Our performance in last year’s festival as part of Your Place was a real highlight for us. We had a cast of 30 people made up of older dancers and youth dancers and people from the community were involved in the running of the event. There was an amazing atmosphere on the day.
What are you most looking forward to in this year’s Brighton Festival programme?
I heard about The Arms of Sleep by The Voice Project at the festival launch and it sounds fascinating! There are often immersive events in the festival, which create really memorable experiences.
Head to our event page to find out more about ticket availability.