Towards an expanded iDANS Festival!

iDANS International Contemporary Dance and Performance Festival had always an extensive program which was hardly fitting into a single month every year since 2007. Already in the fourth edition, iDANS was to break a record in Istanbul for the number of invited artists from abroad, with 41 projects of 154 artists from 21 countries. This year, the festival organizers of Bimeras decided to expand iDANS into the whole season until June, and present a program which will encompass not only diverse expressions of contemporary dance but will also feature some of the most cutting edge theater and trans-disciplinary live arts from the international scene. iDANS had been deemed worthy of funding by the Culture Program of the European Commission, becoming the first festival from Turkey to receive the prestigious support.

In-exhaustible Dance: iDANS | BiMERAS Presents its Special Projects in June

Organized by BiMERAS in Istanbul over the past six years, iDANS has become one of the most innovative and prestigious dance and contemporary performing arts festivals of Europe. In June, iDANS is hosting two special projects by two of the world’s most esteemed choreographers. These special projects also mark a new stage in the development of iDANS.

First of the special performances, Sona Veda (Addio alla Fine) [route change]is a site-specific project conceived by Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten, directors of ICKamsterdam Choreographic Arts Center, for different port cities of the world. Istanbul version of the performance is created as an iDANS co-production ina collaboration with the interdisciplinary art collective biriken, and the playwright Özen Yula. The project also features the journalist Bahar Çuhadar, the actors Zuhal Gencer Erkaya, Ayça Damgacı, Fırat Tanış and the countertenor Nuri Harun Ateş. The performance will take the audience on a boat trip full of surprises on June 15th, and 16th.

On June 22 and 23, Flemish choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker returns to the iDANS stage with her seminal work Rosas danst Rosas. Becoming a huge international success at its onset in 1983, the piece had marked a shift in the history of dance. It has become a contemporary classic and in the 30 years since its creation, it has been learned over and over by new generations of dancers. The work has been recently revived as part of the De Keersmaker’s Early Works.  

Due to “smoky” weather conditions in Turkey, the special project of iDANS, Sona Veda (Addio alla Fine), conceived by renown Dutch artists Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten,  in collaboration with the interdisciplinary art collective biriken, playwright Özen Yula, actors Zuhal Gencer Erkaya, Ayça Damgacı, Fırat Tanış, journalist Bahar Çuhadar, and countertenor Nuri Harun Ateş will not take place as planned on June 15th and 16th.

Sona Veda (Addio alla Fine) was conceived as a meditation on endings, and on endings as new beginnings. Departing from the idea of bringing the audience – living in a period marked by scenarios of approaching ecological and political disaster – togehter  on the Noah’s Ark, the performance aimed to take the passengers on a carnivalesque boat journey.

Obviously, at the moment, there is no better place to imagine a new beginning and to reinvent political culture than Gezi Park. In a way, Sona Veda (Addio alla Fine) has already begun, merging into the spirit of a pluralistic participatory democracy movement. We invite you all to a journey in the Park.

As the new route does not require a ticket, all purchased tickets for Addio alla Fine performance may be returned to Biletix.

The second special performance in June, Rosas danst Rosas by pioneer contemporary choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker will take place on the 22nd and 23rd June as planned, as an expression of iDANS’ struggle to continue with its “in-exhaustible dance” in the most difficult conditions.

Organized by BiMERAS, iDANS Contemporary Dance and Performance Festival is hosting Rosas danst Rosas by pioneer contemporary choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker in Istanbul, as an expression of iDANS’ struggle to continue with its “in-exhaustible dance” in the most difficult conditions. In an attempt to support the pluralistic participatory democracy movement in Turkey, the performances will be free of charge. We invite all dance lovers to join us on the 22nd or 23rd June at 20:00.

Rosas danst Rosas is considered as a turning point in the history of dance. Becoming a huge international success at its onset in 1983, the production had also marked the start of the Rosas Company. It was performed countless times all over the world. It became a classic and in the 30 years since its creation and has been learned over and over by new groups of dancers. The choreography has often been associated with “girl-power” and protest.

Reservation:

Reservation is possible by e-mail (reservation@bimeras.org) or by phone (0212-2448272). Reservation requests by e-mail should include e-mail address and telephone numbers of all participants.

The future of European contemporary dance is in Istanbul at iDANS!

iDANS International Contemporary Dance and Performance Festival presents the brand-new works of the recent graduates from P.A.R.T.S, the most successful dance school of Europe, in a special program between July 9-12, 2014. iDANS audiences are familiar with P.A.R.T.S., which was founded and directed by the legendary Flemish choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. P.A.R.T.S. is a highly competitive school and is known for its unique program that provides its students with the environment to develop their own artistic voices. Every two years the graduation works meet the public in an international tour programmed within prestigious festivals and venues.

On July 9th (Wednesday) and July 10th (Thursday) the new generation of choreographers will present their own work in two different programs representing the extremely diverse features of contemporary dance. On July 11th the spectacular young dance artists will interpret Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s Another Song, a work Beatles fans shall not miss!

Performances will be at Mimar Sinan University Bomonti Building Şebnem Selışık Aksan Stage at 21:15.

On July 12th (Saturday), P.A.R.T.S. graduates coming from 5 continents and 12 different countries will join the dynamism created within parks during the last year in Istanbul, and present a selection of their works at Abbasaga Park in Beşiktaş. The presentation will be preceded by iKEDi workshop, a social creativity project organized by Bimeras|iDANS. 

Bimeras is now launching its new research center and activities titled “Amor Mundi.”

 Hannah Arendt considered calling her magnum opus Amor Mundi: Love of the World. Instead, she settled upon The Human Condition. What is most difficult, Arendt writes, is to love the world as it is, with all the evil and suffering in it. And yet she came to do just that. Loving the world means neither uncritical acceptance nor contemptuous rejection. Above all it means the unwavering facing up to and comprehension of that which is.

After a decade of organizing the iDANS International Festival of Contemporary Dance and Performance as well as assisting numerous local artists from Turkey for their international touring and co-productions, Bimeras is now launching its new research center and activities titled “Amor Mundi.” Inspired by Hannah Arendt’s thoughts on the difficulty of loving the world as it is, with all the evil, suffering, and political atrocities, and the potential to do so through the arts and humanities, it aims to support, facilitate, and disseminate research and debate that cut across humanities, humanistic social sciences, and the arts.

With the input and insights of an international board of advisors and scholars,

Amor Mundi will:

-       support and facilitate new research based on 2-year thematic clusters

-       organize a weekly summer seminar each July led by top scholars in their respective fields

-       host writing residencies and retreats

-       offer fellowships for outstanding researchers

The inaugural event of Amor Mundi,  Bodies of Evidence: Ethics, Aesthetics, and Politics book presentation, talks, video-lectures, and workshops took place on 12&13 July 2019 at the Besiktas premises of Bimeras.