Ballet festival to stir up Aegean region

ISTANBUL

The 10th International Bodrum Ballet Festival will bring famous choreographies to the stage at the town’s ancient castle.

The 10th International Bodrum Ballet Festival will showcase talented performers from across Europe and Turkey from Aug. 8 to 24 in the town of Bodrum in Muğla province.

The first performance of the festival will be a specially prepared choreography called “Love of Bodrum” (Bodrum Aşkı) by Mehmet Balkan, the head choreographer of the State Opera and Ballet.

A ballet adaptation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ‘s “The Sorrows of Young Werther” will be performed to music by Frederick Chopin Aug. 11. The İzmir State Opera and Ballet will participate in the festival Aug. 14 to 15 with “Zorba the Greek,” enriched by Aegean music by Mikis Theodorakis. “Harem” will give the audience a sense of the Ottoman Palace Aug. 18 with scenery and costumes designed by the prominent Russian designer Alexander Vasilliev.

Flamenco community surprise of the festival

This year a surprising participant will be the Antonio Gades Flamenco Community. Aug. 21 the group will stage ballet adaptations of Frederico Garcia Lorca’s acclaimed works “Blood Wedding” and “Suit Flamenco” arranged by Antonio Gades. The festival will close with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” a comedy by William Shakespeare, performed by the Ankara State Opera and Ballet.

The festival was first initiated 10 years ago with the motto “Tourism is nurtured by culture and arts” and the support of the General Directorate of State Opera and Ballet. This year the event will be held at Bodrum Castle, a historical site now used as an underwater archeology museum.