Hmmm . . . is that supposed to be Turkish Cabaret?

There are a few Turkish styles . . . Turkish Cabaret is a la Nesrin Topkapi. It is much more expressive with hands and arms, and movements are bigger and more brash than Egyptian (in a very, very small nutshell - I could go on for quite a while on this). Costuming is very much like with Egyptian Cabaret, only Turkish Cabaret costumes tend to be a little bit more revealing.

Then there are the Turkish Rom styles. I say "styles" (plural), because during my dance career, I have learned two very different incarnations of Turkish Rom. What I learned in the 90's was "standard" gypsy in the style taught by Eva Cernik. I now call this "classical Turkish Gypsy", to differentiate it from the more "modern" style of Rom that is currently happening in Istanbul. I've taken to calling the 2nd version "Istanbul-style Gypsy".

The Istanbul-style gypsy was taught to me by an incredibly talented (Tatar) dancer named Ferda Bayazit, who has spent a couple of years among the Istanbul-area Rom (she is Turkish-Canadian, but moved back to Turkey about 4 years ago). The style is quite a departure, with a different (though similar) feel and some new gestures (and gesture "families"), plus the dancer's footwork timing when dancing the Karsilema is not quite the same as in the "classical" style. The dance is a really great mix of high-energy moves and soulful, sensual moments . . . putting it in front of an audience is kind of setting off a firecracker - a REALLY big one!

Of course, on top of that are the folkloric styles, with which I'm not terribly familiar . . .

QUICK NOTE - Ferda is coming to North America from Turkey in August/September, and will be teaching Turkish Cabaret (she's one of Ms. Topkapi's students) and Istanbul-style Gypsy workshops while she is here visiting . . . anyone interested in attending or hosting a workshop with Ferda, e-mail me and I can pass on her contact info :-)

Elizabeth is pseudo close to my area and she's done alot of workshops up here so i can tell you that she's an expert in Turkish style over-all. I don't know specifically what type she's focussing on in this dvd but if you want a strong place to start i'd highly recommend her. You might want to check out her website for more info.

www.serpentine.org

I've seen other videos by that amazing lady-- I bet it's worth a look-see

She deals with all types of music, including "different" rhythm patterns, like 7/8 or 9/8

I find her very informed and highly credible; she knows her dances!