naiadasdanceblog

My Body, An Instrument to be Tipped

I have performed not only my first post- pandemic show, but also the first solo belly dance show of my life! As a Turkish woman, I feel that this new professional area is not devoid of tensions, which are worth exploring. In this blog post, I will address one of them, the power dynamics ofContinue reading “My Body, An Instrument to be Tipped”

I am the successor to Theodora’s throne.

Writing about the sexual bullying in primary and middle school, is like vomiting a sea of bloody and moldy animal carcass, which has been sitting in my stomach for 20 years. The primary school I was attending to, was a billion lira worth of private school. The papers of the day refer to it asContinue reading “I am the successor to Theodora’s throne.”

I don’t need a husband, nor a victim-blaming therapist

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. As you know, I moved in with my boyfriend when I was 23 and he turned out to be a domestic abuser. It took me 2 years to completely abandon him. Yet within the frame of this month, I would like to share a fundamental aspect of my experience whichContinue reading “I don’t need a husband, nor a victim-blaming therapist”

Fluid Wings

Taken from my instagram post on October 6, 2018. This small piece of mémoire emerged at a time where I spent so much time looking at my past, yearning for a reconnection with my younger selves; both as a remembrance but also as a way to recreate myself after for years, producing so much, doingContinue reading “Fluid Wings”

Faşist Erkeğin, Uzay Sonsuzluğuna Olan Nefreti

Dilin kullanım biçimi, ataerkillik ve faşizm arasında çok sıkı bir bağ olduğunu düşünüyorum. Okullarda, öğrenciler arasındaki dilin sınırlarını erkekler belirler. Eğer erkeklerin sınırlarından taşıyorsanız; önce nefret, sonra tecrit edilmeniz işten bile değildir. Türkiye’de faşizmi bedenselleştiren erkekler… Her zaman benden nefret etmişlerdir. Türkçe konuşan bir yabancı gibiyim onların gözünde. Türkçe konuşma şeklim yüzünden, orta okuldan beriContinue reading “Faşist Erkeğin, Uzay Sonsuzluğuna Olan Nefreti”

WHAT IF VIANNE HAD FALLEN IN LOVE WITH COMTE DE REYNAUD ?

Two particular moments during the first lockdown helped me to rediscover and reclaim essential parts my personality, which were temporarily inaccessible to me due to the traces of my domestic violence experience. In quarantine, I cooked a couple of times for my family. I cooked meatballs, the Turkish köfte. I overheard my parents talking, “ItContinue reading “WHAT IF VIANNE HAD FALLEN IN LOVE WITH COMTE DE REYNAUD ?”

D is for… Dignity, Deus Ex Machina and Dreams

Valerie had said, we must never give the last inch of our integrity away. Clearly, Valerie has never gone through the extreme forms of depression. The pillars of my integrity, the Circassian matriarch and the idealist researcher, shattered in my mind. I looked at my hands in terror, “Are these really my hands!?” They wereContinue reading “D is for… Dignity, Deus Ex Machina and Dreams”

“Victory is for those, who can say…”

I choreographed and performed in my first music video. It got extensively featured in Turkish mainstream media. They describe my dance with one word: Unique. I am open to debates about whether uniqueness exists, what uniqueness is, whether my dance is unique, etc. I am open to rational criticisms (If you want to translate thatContinue reading ““Victory is for those, who can say…””

BEYOĞLU STREET CAT AT DRINK AND DRAW NIGHT

After the usual rush of planning my route from my home in the Asian side of Istanbul to the European city center of Beyoğlu- I wait for my taxi, hoops in my ear, black skirt peeking through my winter coat. I will be attending the “Drink and Draw” event of the series Open Studio Days-Continue reading “BEYOĞLU STREET CAT AT DRINK AND DRAW NIGHT”