Performing Arts Scholar Prof. Berna Kurt Kemaloğlu: Dramaturgical Practice in Dance is a Way to Break Stereotypes
At the 15th International Conference on "Culture & Creativity" Prof. Berna Kurt Kemaloğlu (Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, Turkey) is willing to share her experience in choreographic processes and explore how they deal with gender and race issues in dance. Referring to different dance productions, she focuses on the principal dramaturgical aim to break the orientalist, erotic, and exotic belly dance images and the related audience expectations. The scientist investigates different forms of creativity in movement and sound that enable us to show that “a different belly dance” is possible.
Since 2018 Prof. B. K. Kemaloğlu, a performing arts scholar, who works as a dramaturg in Berlin-based choreographer Tümay Kılınçel’s projects on belly dance, intertwines her academic research and creative work. Her dance experience and studies on the historical and socio-political contexts of dance in Turkey enable the scientist to check how a performance will work in front of an audience.
How profoundly do historical and socio-political contexts influence dance, and could you provide an example of a dance form in Turkey that illustrates this impact?
Traditional dance movements have always been transforming in relation with the historical, socio-political and technological developments. Today, social media videos access a wide audience. Even people in very small villages watch different interpretations of their local dances abroad (by young generations of immigrants who mix them with other dances. If they like them, they imitate them. Therefore, the dance form “in the field” changes and becomes more “hybrid” accordingly.
What specific aspects of belly dance make it a compelling and multifaceted field for research?
Belly dance was and still is popular in social and performative contexts. Today, many dancers from different parts of the world present very different interpretations. Since it carries the burden of colonialist history with gender bias, it also offers very rich opportunities for alternative, critical, postcolonial studies.
Has belly dance transitioned from being primarily a folk or traditional form performed in communal settings to a more staged or theatrical performance art? Or has it moved in the opposite direction?
Yes, it is both a social and presentational form today.
Stereotypically, belly dance is associated with women of Middle Eastern and North African backgrounds. How does its representation on modern stages challenge or reinforce gender and race issues?
Today it is a popular art form among women, men and non-binary people in many different parts of the world. Since the 1970’s, women in Western world in particular redefined it as a symbol of liberation. Today, I observe that young generations of dancers and researchers in Egypt and Turkey question the power issues in this dance and provide alternative interpretations.
How can dramaturgical choices effectively challenge and deconstruct orientalist, erotic, and exotic stereotypes associated with belly dance, influencing audience perception?
It can open a space for some critical approaches. In my own dramaturgical experience, in a solo work, playing with the audience expectations, questioning of the dominant terminology, problematizing the multiple identities of the POC dancer, developing a personal movement style were important points. In a group work, I also had a chance to present the diversity, plurality, hybridity in this dance genre, to state that this is a very ancient dance form, full of history and richness.
What role does creativity play in shaping the future of belly dance, both in terms of its evolution as an art form and in challenging stereotypes and conventions?
When creativity is related to some intellectual background, it offers a space for experimentation. Meticulous artistic research provides a critical approach and some new interpretations relatedly. The result is generally an alternative to the conventions and stereotypes.
The 15th International Conference on "Culture & Creativity"* invites leading academic scientists, researchers, scholars, and professionals to discuss current trends and issues in cultural management and the creative industries. This conference provides a premier interdisciplinary platform for researchers, practitioners, and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns in these fields. We welcome discourse on the practical challenges encountered and solutions adopted in the realms of Cultural & Creative Industries, Creative Business, and Arts & Culture Management and Marketing.
The online conference is organized by Vilnius University Kaunas Faculty, Institute of Social Sciences and Applied Informatics, the scientific group “Creative Industries and Innovations” and Vilnius Academy of Arts Kaunas Faculty.