Fire of Anatolia to open to world with dance schools

ANTALYA – Anadolu Agency

Mustafa Erdoğan, the founder and general art director of Turkey’s internationally acclaimed dance troupe, the Fire of Anatolia, said he had received offers to open dance schools abroad, adding that it was his dream to realize such a project. 

Synthesizing Anatolian dances with ballet and modern dance, the Fire of Anatolia presents shows on stages across the world. The troupe’s 120 dancers worked throughout the winter to stage 3,000 folk dance figures perfectly. The dancers also took theoretical lessons on the “notation of Anatolian rhythms.” 

The Fire of Anatolia marked the 16th anniversary of its founding, when they first took stage on May 3, 2001.  
He said they had so far performed over 5,000 shows in 98 countries and reached more than 40 million viewers, adding that they hosted nearly 500,000 viewers every year in Antalya. 

“We, the Fire of Anatolia, will perform throughout May in Antalya. From June, Troy and the Fire of Anatolia will perform together. We have new choreographies in both shows. We use new techniques. We renewed the flight and hydraulic systems. We added new Roman and war dances as well as new decors and music. We added some Greek music to Troy. We added some authenticity to our local music,” he added.  

Programs abroad 

The group is set to go on a world tour, including a tour in Greece and shows in Turkish Cyprus, with a tour at home in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya in the summer.

Erdoğan said they will take stage in Istanbul on May 7 at the Bostancı Show Center and later perform in Baku and Moscow. 

“We will have a few shows in a few places in Latin America this season. We also have projects in Jordan and Egypt. We will have a long tour in Russia between June 20 and 28. Russia is very important to us. It is a source of pride for a dance troupe to go to Russia because Russians are very good at dancing. They take dance education at a very young age. It is nice to be appreciated there,” he said.  

Goal is to open schools abroad 

Erdoğan said they had schools in Antalya, Ankara, Gaziantep, Istanbul and Bursa. The number of schools in Turkey will be 17 next year, he said, adding that they have a total of 1,800 students in these schools.

“We were on tour in Chile and they offered us to open a school there. We also received offers in Canada and the Netherlands as well as Russia and China. It is my dream to spread these schools to the world. One day will come and we will see a Fire of Anatolia of Chinese children or Americans. This will be an extraordinary thing,” he said.  

Chief dancer and choreographer Perit Kuban Yançatoral said the group worked five to six days a week. “We burn some 1,000 to 1,500 calories in each show. This is why we are very careful with what we eat. We need to gain these calories again in order not to lose muscle. We are under supervision of dieticians,” Yançatoral said. 

Müge Olçum Sydorovych, another chief dancer and trainer, said she had been dancing with the Fire of Anatolia for 16 years. She said they worked for the show throughout the winter. “We work more as time for shows comes close.”