During my recent trip to Istanbul, I had the absolute pleasure of learning from Nesrin Topkapi, one of my all time favourite dancers from not just belly dance but all types of dance. A graceful, charismatic and inspirational dancer. Nesrin Topkapi was the first belly dancer to appear on Turkish television dancing on New Years eve shows in the early 1980s.
Today she trains and choreographs for theatre show dancers getting them ready for stage. Nesrin Topkapi has stood the test of time and is self taught like most dancers of her generation. She is a very clever dancer with a natural eye on the little details. Her approach and delivery when teaching is superb, it's lovely to see that she hasn't lost her energy and passion for the dance.
I am a true fan of this wonderful artist. Watch the video of Nesrin Topkapi below.
After my recent trip to Istanbul, I felt I should post about the teachers I've been learning with. The first is Sema Yildiz, a belly dancer and artist in the truest sense of the word. As the Daughter of a farmer, she began dancing at a very young age and with her Turkish Romany origins now has a strong Romany Gypsy student following.
Over the years, Sema Yildiz has influenced and trained many of the dancers in Istanbul today including Didem. Sema dances like a lady with a youthful charm and has a great wealth of knowledge. After I had spent time with her she was off to teach workshops and perform in Canada which proves that she has an ever growing international following from all over the world. This Summer you can take workshops with her in Greece.
Here is a rare piece of footage of Sema Yildiz dancing in 1976. You have to remember this is a era before YouTube, dance congresses and weekly classes so much of what you see is self taught. Enjoy! :)
