Modern Dance "Alla Turca:" Transforming Ottoman Dance in Early Republican Turkey

Author(s): Arzu Öztürkmen

Source: Dance Research Journal, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Summer, 2003), pp. 38-60
Published by: Congress on Research in Dance
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 ModernDanceAliaTurca:
TransformingOttomanDance
in EarlyRepublicanTurkey
ArzuOztiirkmen

_his (b. Igo6)1 and her father Selim

essay looks at the works of Selma Selim Simrri
Sirri Tarcan (I874-1956), who wrote on dance in the I92os, a period that marked
the transitionfrom the OttomanEmpireto modernTurkey.The OttomanEm-
pire ruled acrossthe Mediterraneanworld between the thirteenthand twentiethcen-
turies,collapsingafterWorld War I. The Republicof Turkeywas declaredin I923, dis-
tancingitself from the Ottoman traditionto adopt a westernizationreformprogram.2
Written in the early Republicanera, the works of Selma Selim Sirn and Selim Sirr
Tarcanmarkthe shift from Ottoman dancetraditionsto a moreWestern approachto
dance.Inspiredby IsadoraDuncan, SelmaSelim Sim (1926)exploredthe idea of mod-
ern dance for Ottomanwomen in a booklet entitled SelmaSelimSirriHanzm'nBedii
Rakslarz(The Aesthetic Dances of Miss Selma Selim Sirr, see Fig. i). Her fatherwas
the authorof Halk Danslarive TarcanZeybegi(Folk Dances and the TarcanZeybek,
see Fig. 2),3a book that focusedon the processof refiningfolk dances,in particularthe
zeybekgenre,4to suit the tastesof an educated,urbanaudience.
These two books were publishedin the sameyear, 1926,beforethe Republicanal-
phabet reform,5and they reflect the new approachto dance in RepublicanTurkey,
which turnedits back on Ottoman ways of life, includingdance events.6In the Ot-
toman world, dance had a varietyof formswith establishedtraditionsand institutions

Arzu Oztiirkmen is AssociateProfessorof Deniz Kandiyoriand Ayse Saktanber,"Poli-

History at BogaziciUniversity,Istanbul, tics of NationalDance in Turkey:A Histori-
Turkey,where she teachescoursesin folklore, cal Reappraisal," Traditional
2001 Yearbookfor
performingartsand oralhistory.She received Music, vol. 33, pp. I3I-I35 and "Dance and
her Ph.D. from the Universityof Pennsylva- Identityin Turkey,"The Middle East, vol. 6
nia, Departmentof Folkloreand Folklifein of WorldMusic.New
of GarlandEncyclopedia
1993. Her publications include articles in York & London: Routledge,pp. 811-818.
journalsand books publishedin Turkey,the The authordedicatesthis articleto Professor
United Statesand Spain.Recentpublications Dieter Holzer of FrankfurtUniversitywhose
include"IDance Folklore,"in Fragmentsof ALL protocolenabledher to accomplish
Culture:TheEverydayLife of Turkey,eds. this work.

38

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 -| :. .:~- l

Figure i. Thefront cover of Selma

SelimSim's Selma Selim Sirn
Hamm'mBediiRakslan,
pub-
lished in 1926.

dating back to the thirteenthcentury.Tarcan'sand Selma Selim Sun's works can be

better understoodif situatedin the context of the westernizationof the Turkish Re-
public, with its continuitiesand discontinuitiesfrom the Ottoman world. This paper
will thus begin with a historicalreviewof the transitionfrom Ottoman dancingto new
forms of dance in a new nation-state,and then focus on the works of Selim Siu Tar-
can and his daughter,SelmaSelim Sun.

Ottoman Dance Tradition:A Historical Background

From the sixteenthto the nineteenthcenturies,dancein the Ottomanworldwas a var-
ied practicethat includedreligiousmovement systems,professionaldancing in urban
contexts, and folk dancing in the provinces.Religious movement systems, often re-
ferred to as "religiousdance,"were widely performedaround the empire as part of
largerrituals.The semahof the Alevi Muslim communities,for example,was usually
performedas part of the cemritualin village contexts.Many religiousorders(tarikats)
also performedtheir whirling rituals(semaayint) in differenttowns and cities around
the empire.The Ottoman state cooperatedwith most of the religiousorders,framing

Dance Research Journal35/1 (Summer 2003) 39

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 C"? ?''-n~~~~;~~*UR
Jnli~~~:~i~~::
: . :~ ..~~.. e
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'i~.z::~u~~~~.
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t wt .
Figure2. Thefrontcoverof Selim ..--
Sim Tarcans,Halk Danslan ve :
Tarcan Zeybegi. Thisis theI948 v
,:| ri. y*.
edition,thefirstreprintin the : , ^t|:'il;i"e
new alphabet.

them as respectedsocial institutions,but oppressedthe Alevi sects aroundAnatolia

to avoid their rapprochementwith the neighboring Safavison the empire'seastern
borders.7
Professionalmale and female dancers,usuallyof non-Muslim origins,were organ-
ized underelaborateguild systems(kols)that performedin largecities of the empire,in
coffee houses, mansions of the elite (konaks),imperialfestivals,and palace perform-
ances. Today, the availabledocuments on professionalurban dancing include visual
sourcessuch as Ottoman miniaturepaintingsand Europeanillustrations,and descrip-
tive narrativesof court poets and foreign observers.Most surnames,illustratedOt-
toman festivalbooks, are rich in visual representationsof ceremonialevents, but they
do not provideanswersto many questions about the natureof historicaldance prac-
tices.8The surnamesdescribethe materialcultureof the festivities-the list of guests,
their seatingarrangements,the amountof food and numberof workers-more than as-

40 Dance Research Journal35/1 (Summer 2003)

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I 'A

to
side(Fig. 3).9Miniaturepaintingsof the surnames gve less spaceto women; never-
known
~theless, it women
that is dancers (engs) perfored,
a lso especiallyin harem
pects relatedtoheldia
the performingarts.The performances
in he are(hans)
impostelsdepicted more
(Figs.
ing in miniature
4and 5) For-
~~~~~~~~peperformances
paintings in
paintingsthan written texts. In the miniaturepaintings, paintings,the most dominantimages images
are dancing
dancing boys
boys (16feks) gathered usually
(kofeks) gathered usually in groups
groups of four, six, or eight,
eight, holding
holding
wooden sticksin their hands,extendingtheir armsupward,and movingtheir hips side
banect
to siderelated to the
(Fig. 3)?9 Miniature
performing arts.The
paintings performance
of the events
surnamesgive lesswere
space more detailed
to women; thaniature
never-
theless, it is known that women dancers(;engis) also performed,especiallyin harem
woodthe
performances of their
narrativesheld in thehands, their
in konaks,
extending
palace, armtings
and were
in hostels often
(hans) biased, and
ng4 and
(Figs. their side
hipsFor-
5).V?
eign travelers, officials,
eign travelers, and ambassadors
officials, and ambassadorsand and their
theirwives also depicted
uwivesalso ur-
professional ur-
depicted professional
ban dancing. Foreigners'descriptionsof performanceevents were more detailedthan
the narrativesof the surnames;however,their writingswere often biased, and they all
carriedtracesof an orientalistapproach.11 Many foreign observers,especiallymen, did
not like the ribaldhumor of Ottoman professionaldancing,found the music intolera-
ble, or could not decode the dramaticelementsthat surroundedthe dance events.12In

Dance Resear.h Journal35/1 (Summer 2003) 41

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 :
Figure 4. A engi, professional
womandancer,portrayedby ir ': . .'
Levni. Reprintedfrom nd :
(1976).

short,althoughinformativein visualand descriptiveimages,both the surnamesand the

foreign observers'accountsdo not fully delineatethe natureof Ottoman professional
dancing as a structuredmovementsystemwith its own units, differencesin style, and
significancefor its audienceand its community.13
In I839, the Ottoman state adopted a westernizationreformprogram,the Tanzi-
mat,which aimedat transformingtraditionalinstitutionsinto Western ones. New reg-
ulationsbroughtequalitybefore the law to the variousreligiousgroups of the empire
and transformedthe educationsystemby opening more fields to women and promot-
ing the teaching of Western-style painting and classical music. The impact of the
Tanzimatwas also felt in the field of dance,as Europeanoperaand balletgroupsvisited
big cities of the empire.New theaterhalls were opened, especiallyin the Beyoglu dis-
trict of Istanbul,hosting Europeansingers and dancersas well as acrobatsand other
cabaretperformers.

42 Dance Research Journal35/1 (Summer 2003)

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 ............
.j:11:.. Figure . A womandancingfora
:::',:::..i~..~:
.:?::::::::;:notable in a hostel.Reprinted
'U fr_:::: ii-
:::i:..il..:JCrom And(:976).

While professionaldancingwas being performedin elite settings,both the Muslim

and non-Muslim communitiesperformedtheir own nativedancesin small towns and
villageson such occasionsas weddings,springfestivals,and farewellgatheringsfor sol-
diersdepartingfor militaryservice.(Such servicewas compulsoryfor the empire'sMus-
lim communities.)These native dances were the basis of what would later form the
"national"or "folkdance"repertoryof the new nation-statesarisingfrom the ruins of
the Ottoman Empire. Unfortunately,the history of these folk dance movementshas
been written as separatecases without a comparativeframeworkacknowledgingthe
Ottomanpastwith its reciprocalculturalborrowingsand sharedgenres.l4
For the Muslim Ottoman world, documentationof these kinds of regionaldances
was almost nonexistentuntil the nineteenthcentury.The discoveryof dance as a sym-
bol of nationalidentity came in the early 90ooswith the writings of Riza Tevfik and
Selim Sim Tarcan.Coming from the "YoungTurk"tradition,these writersestablished
a more direct relationshipbetween folk dances and nationalidentities. Following the
spiritof the Tanzimat,Young Turks aimed at modernizationand restructuringof the
Ottoman Empireby revolutionarymethods.They were associatedwith the Committee

Dance Research Journal35/1 (Summer 2003) 43

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Figure6.A ko6ekasportrayedbyJean Baptistevan Moorin Recueil de cent estampesrepresen-
tant differentesnations du Levant,Paris,1714.ReprintedfomAnd (1959).

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 ..:

. *
i

,,, w .,.. ' .

<r:.-** AV? f-.1,1111
iii^. . Pk1
0 ,w i'.
,1.VI,

.-?,,Y
Voa
j4y~~~:.
r*e
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7F~~~~~~~~
lji
?"} : ;
f

|-r!
......
0
fI ' '. ?
i x ,<s

.~i .....

i,.
*
J _ )KiIr Figure7. Thefont coverof
'' . > 0
y
.......... ............ ....... .. ..
MehmetFetgeri$uenuand
e _
t,
Muallim M. Sami'sKadlnda
iL;:

. .
Terbiye-i Bedeniye (Physical
e,- . 0%

TrainingforWomen),published
between I914 and 1928.

of Union and Progress(CUP), which came to powerwith the I908 Revolutionand es-
tablishedthe constitutionalmonarchyin the Ottoman Empire.15Young Turks denied
manyaspectsof the Ottomantraditionas decadent,and promoteda moreWestern ap-
proachto art and culture.They wrote on a largevarietyof topics, includingeducation,
arts,medicine,and women'semancipation.In I909, Riza Tevfikwrote an artide called
"Dance and Its Various Forms in Ottoman Countries"that gave a genre-based
overviewof regionaldances from the Balkans,the Aegean, and the Black Sea region
(Riza Tevfik I909). It drew attentionto regionaldancesas expressiveforms of particu-
lar cultures,and describedand comparedthem with Europeandancegenres.
For Young Turks like Tarcan and Riza Tevfik, interestin the study of folk dance
was accompaniedby studyof the humanbody, focusingon the body as an expressionof
"health"and "strength"as well as a way to build a "healthynation."Other writersalso
published articles and books on the issues of dance and sports. Among them, one
shouldmentionMehmet Fetgeri?uenu,who wantedto teach Ottomanwomen how to
exerciseto keep a healthybody (Fig. 7).16In the Young Turk ideology,women'seman-
cipation and education had a central place in promoting the idea of a strong and
healthynation.The worksof Tarcanand his daughtershouldthereforebe examinedin

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 the context of the revolutionaryspirit of the Young Turk era. Distancing themselves
from the traditionalwaysof Ottomandancing,both of them looked to the West to in-
vent new forms of dance for a new society.Although born in the last decadesof the
Ottoman Empire, they quicklyadaptedthemselvesto the rising spirit of Republican
Turkey.17Tarcanwas committedto refiningregionaldancesand to the inventionof a
new "nationaldance,"which men andwomen would performin socialsettingslike the
Europeansdid. Selma Selim Sim was interestedin liberatingher movementsystemas
a young woman of the Republic.She wanted to promote"moderndance,"which she
discoveredsimultaneouslywith the world,as well as to give dancea respectableplacein
the new nation-state.Both fatherand daughtersaw in dance an opportunityto look
"moreWestern"and acknowledgedthe importanceof placingwomen at the centerof
the dance space-in schools and on stage-to furtherenhancethis Western image. In
fact, ideas relatedto women'semancipationwere alreadywidespreadin the Ottoman
worldeversince the Tanzimatand reachedtheirpeakin the YoungTurkera.Ottoman
women publishedmagazinesin which they criticizedsuch issues as legal rights and
arrangedmarriages,and advocatedthe expansionof sociallife and betteropportunities
for women in the fields of education and employment(see Demirdirek1998). The
iconographyof these magazinespromotedthe image of a new type of womanhood,in
which healthy bodies and assertivebody languagebecame significant(see Giirboga
1998).Undoubtedly,SelmaSelim Sir was partof the educatedOttomanelite and had
accessto more opportunitiesthan most Ottomanwomen. Her and her father'sworks
were an outcomeof the westernizationprogram,which beganin the OttomanEmpire
and continuedinto earlyRepublicanTurkey.This programaimedto transformsociety
at large,to build a "strong"and "westernized" nation,wherewomen'scontributionsto
and participationin publiclife were importantideals, and where dancingbecameone
meansof accomplishingthese aspirations.

FolkDance in Tuxedo:Selim SirriTarcanand His Notion of National Dance

When Selim Sirr Tarcanpublishedhis book on nationaldancein I926, he had already
accomplishedan impressivecareerandplacedhimselfas the foundingfatherof modern
physicaltraining.In 1907he had been introducedto Baron Pierrede Coubertin,the
founderof the modernOlympicGames,in Istanbul.De Coubertinrequestedthat Tar-
can establisha National Olympic Committee,which Tarcanwas able to do afterthe
Young Turk Revolution(1908) in 19II. The Young Turk Governmentsent Tarcanto
Sweden in 1909 to specializein the field of physicaltraining.Under Ottoman rule,
he taughtgymnasticsto the Ottoman Sultan,attendedthe InternationalCongresson
PhysicalTrainingheld in Parisin I913,andwas the firstto organizea gymnasticscom-
petition in Istanbulin I9I6.18Followingthe foundingof modernTurkey,Tarcanfound
himself a respectableplace in the Republicanelite. He continuedto chairthe National
Olympics Committee and initiatedvarioussportsgenres in RepublicanTurkey. His
book Halk Danslari ve TarcanZeybegi(Folk Dances and the Tarcan Zeybek) was
among his earliestworks,which aimed to enlightenthe new Republicanaudienceon
Western ways of life.19Here, Tarcan laid out a wide range of ideas related to the

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refiningof folkdancesin Sweden,thestateof regionaldancesin thelateOttomanEm-
pire,and his impressionsof the legendaryIsadoraDuncanand Emile-Jacques Dal-
croze.20Tarcanbenefitsfromthe ideasof thesewell-knownfigures,whomhe met in
I9I3at the Congresson PhysicalTrainingheldat SorbonneUniversity
International in
Paris.Tarcan'sbookbeginswith a sectioncalled"Whatis Dance?"Here,he defined
danceas "themanifestation of nervousforcesandemotionsaccumulated in ourbodies
on the basis of rhythmand harmony"(Tarcan1992,I76). He classifieddanceinto four
categories: to ballroomdances),andchildren's.
rhythmic,folk,social(referring In ex-
ploringthe notionof "rhythmic dance,"he referredto the FrenchactorFrancoisDel-
sarteto showDuncan'sconnectionto theDelsarteschool.Tarcanquotedlongpassages
fromDuncan'sandDalcroze'sdefinitionsof dance,buthe did not providehis readers
with the sourceof thesequotations.Nevertheless, fromthe plot of his narrative,one
mayguess that theywere notes takenat the International His
Congress. quotation
fromDuncanwasmeaningful, forit showedthe sourceof his daughter's dislikeof ac-
robatics(a matterI willelaborate Duncan
later). stated:
As I understand, danceis notmerelymannersandmovements, whichsurface
human emotions. Perhaps[it is] the imitation and the of nature
representation
in a moregentleway.I analyzedtheillustrations of thedancersandcommand-
ersof themostprosperous timesof AncientGreece;in noneof themhadI
comeacrossthosewhowalkedon theirtoes,puttheirlegsovertheirheads,or
benttheirbodiesallthewayback.If to putone'sbodyin suchbizarreshapesas
the snakesdo is a newinvention,thisis notrightat all;becausemovementis
notinventedbutdiscovered. Justlikeharmonyis discovered, notinvented.The
ultimateaim in the artof dance is the of
unity shape and movement. Thereis
nothingin naturewithoutharmony. We seeharmonyin everystageof life.The
danceI putforward wasinspiredby harmonyof trees,waves,clouds,and
the
storms.It seemsto methatthedanceperformed at thebeachis relatedto the
waves,in theforestto thetrees,in thedesertto theendlesshorizons,andthat
in theend,onecannotcalldancethosejumpsdonewithoutthebody'srelation
to the spirit.(Tarcan I992, I77)
whodefineddanceasfollows:
DuncanandJacques-Dalcroze,
Tarcancompared
Dancerefersto the movements, whichameliorate of the muscles,
the sensibility
whicharebasedupontheexperimental analysisof therelationbetweentime
andspace,andwhich,in thatway,organizethenaturalharmonyof thebody.
The trickin danceis to composepoetrybycombiningthegraceof themusical
soundwith the harmonyof movements.(Tarcan1992,178)
TarcanfavoredDuncan'sapproach. He preferredDuncan'semphasison movementto
Dalcroze's focuson music."ToIsadora,"he said,"movement, a
in its essence,expresses
meaningof its own,musicis complementary to it. Varioustypesof dancesperformed
by a well-trainedbodydo stillhavea meaningevenwithoutthe music.Becausemove-
ments embodya harmonyon theirown"(Tarcan1992,I78).
of Duncanandher discipleson the stageof the Trocadero
The live performance
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 Palace deeply moved Tarcan.He stated that "aslong as he lives, he will neverforget
that piece of art,"which he laterdescribedin his book in full romanticism:
Isadoraand ten of her students,who had proportional,well-shapedand lively
bodies trainedin gymnastics,representedthe nine dance21musesof Ancient
Greeks.As the violin soundsrosegradually,the Americanyoung girlsbeganto
fly like birdson the stage;yes, they were not dancingbut flying.They were rep-
resentinga scenefrom Offenbach'sfamousOrpheeauxEnfers,theywere in fact
bringingthe sceneto life. All of a suddenthe violins stopped.The stagewas lit.
Now, in frontof our eyes, colorfulbutterflies,with elegantgesturesand harmo-
nious movements,took up wherethe violinshad left off. In placeof the music,
which hadjust caressedour ears,now dancedazzledour eyes. (Tarcan1992,I77)
Dance to the sound of silence was revolutionaryfor Tarcan.Although he favored
Duncan'semphasison movementratherthan music, it is interestingto note that his
own creativityin choreographydependedprimarilyon the music. In choreographing
Tarcanzeybegiin the I92os,he would begin by pickingup a song and then choreograph
his danceto this music.This choreographywas inspiredby dancepracticesin Sweden,
where he had studied physicaltraining.Alreadyfilled with ideas of nationalismand
Westernization,this Young Turk admiredSwedishways of expressingstrongnational
feelingsthroughfolk songs and folk dances.The new formsof representationof Swed-
ish folk dancesin urbansalonsimpressedTarcan.He liked the way Swedishfolklorists
had "disciplined"and "refined"folk dancesto form a repertoryof nationaldances,"ex-
cludingsome, restoringothers and rechoreographing" what had been selected(Tarcan
1992, 182).
Tarcandecidedto applySwedish"discipline" and "refinement" to the zeybekdances,
an Aegean dancegenrehe had studiedin detailandfavored.He beganhis endeavorsin
Istanbulby bringingsix soldiersfrom the Aegean regionto his apartment.Dancing to
the accompanimentof a clarinetplayed by one of his former students, the soldiers
showedTarcansome of their zeybekfigures,which were characterizedby wide armand
leg movementsin a very slow rhythm.Tarcanobservedthat the soldiers'performance
was not "ordered"but improvised:
The armmovements,steps,and the knee-bendsof those soldiersfromAydin,
Odemi?,Kilizmant,Bursa,did not reallyresembleone another;theywere all
the samein essence,but therewere smalldifferencesin formand movements.
They repeatedthe dancea coupleof times;eachtime they bent theirkneesat a
randomtime. I askedthem why. They told me they performedthe way their
legs feel it, that this is all innateand not subjectto uniformity.(TarcanI992,
182)

Tarcanwas also dissatisfiedwith the zeybekperformanceshe later observedin villages

becausethey "lackedthe refinement"seen in Swedishdances.Randomchangesin the
timing of arm and leg movementsbotheredhim. In 1916he decidedto choreographa
zeybekdancein a "methodicaland formal"way,with predeterminedfiguresand a well-

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calculatedbeginningand end. Tarcanfirstpicked a zeybekfolk song, San Zeybek,and
sped up its rhythmwhile "preservingthe nationalcharacterof both the song and the
dance":
I gave the zeybek'shead an upwardpositionand the shapeof a pearto his
hands,while preservingthe particularityof the zeybekdance'sattitudeand
movements.I did not use sharpandroughmovements;I paid attentionto the
harmonybetweenthe postureand the movements.I gavea wavingmovement
from the top to the end of the arms.(Tarcan1992,i86)
As much as he wanted to eliminate"rough"and "sharp"movements,Tarcanalso op-
posed any improvisationduring the performance."Like the music,"he stated, "folk
danceshad to havea permanentform":
The contentand the goal of nationalfolk dancesareextremelyimportant.They
areliving expressionof the people'scharacteristics,feelings,temperament,and
morals.It is necessaryto offerpeoplethis noble traditionas a sacredbook, once
we passit throughan artisticfilter.If one does not give permanentformsto folk
dances,and if its musicalnotationand movementsarenot determined,young
peoplewho will get excitedbyjoyfulemotionsand alcoholin publicgatherings,
weddings,and festivalswill not hesitateto inventnew postures,attitudes,and
even movementsas it pleasesthem. (Tarcan1992,i8o)
Tarcan'schoreographywith predeterminedfigureswell-situatedin time was, in fact,
imaginedas a ballroomdance genre, a dance that could be performedby mixed cou-
ples, easilylearnedand capableof beingwidelyperformed.He taughthis new choreog-
raphyto a mixedgroupof studentsat the GirlsTeachers'College. In a performancein
Izmir in I925, Tarcan performedhis zeybek in front of Atatiirk.22According to the
Izmir daily Vakit,Atatirk askedTarcanto repeathis performancefirstin a tuxedosuit,
and then accompaniedby a woman student.He also honoredhim with the following
wordswhich Tarcanquotedin the introductionof his book:
Ladiesand Gentlemen!Selim Sirn Bey has given the zeybekdancea civilized
formby revivingit. This masterartist'sworkhas maturedand come to sucha
beautifulformthat it canbe liked and acceptedby all of us to haveits special
placein our nationaland sociallife. Fromnow on, we can tell the Europeans
that we too havean excellentdance,andwe can performit in our salons.The
zeybekdancecan and must be performedwith women in all kindsof social
salons.23(Tarcan1992,I75)
This image of the "nationaldance"was held to mean a "socialdance,"a dance that
could be performednationally.In that respect,it was verydifferentfrom the stagingof
folk dancesin the earlyRepublicanera.
In Republicantimes, regionaldancesbegan to be stagedand organizedfor the first
time in People'sHouses (1932-I95I),semi-officialculturalcentersestablishedin small
towns devotedto the promotionof Republicanreformsand to conductingresearchon

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 local folkloreand history.Native dancersperformedthese regionaldancesin Ankara,
the capitalcity, especiallyon the newlyinventednationalholidays.24 It was duringthe
I96os that regionaldances began to be taught in urbancontexts.Universitystudents
pioneeredthe learningand teachingof regionaldancesthat did not necessarilybelong
to their nativetowns. By the I97os, folk dancinghad spreadin high schools, colleges,
and newly booming urbanfolk dance clubs.The repertoryof folk dancesconsistedof
Thracianand Anatolianregionaldances,includingthe zeybek,but manyothersas well,
suchas the horon,the halay,and the bargenres.The practiceof this repertorydeveloped
in time into a hybridform of folk dancing calledfolkloroynamak(to dance folklore),
which borrowedelements from the originalregionaldancesbut dramaticallychanged
into a new structuredmovementsystem.25 This movementsystemwas "national" in the
sense that it evolvedthroughthe historyof the Turkishnation-state.It was different
fromthe conceptof"nationaldance"thatTarcanhad imagined.
In fact, Tarcanalso hoped that his nationaldancewould be performednationwide.
He taught the Tarcanzeybegiin other teachers'colleges, and performedit publiclyon
variousoccasions.Tarcan'sstudentswho workedin provincialareasaftertheirgradua-
tion taughtthe zeybekto their students,26 but these individualeffortsdid not lead Tar-
can zeybegito become Turkey'sunique "nationaldance"as Tarcandreamedit would
be. The lack of institutionaland social settingswhere social dancingwould be "legiti-
mately"performedprevented Tarcanzeybegifrom being diffused nationwide.27In
the earlyRepublicancontext,wherethe "salonculture"was limited to a few urbanset-
tings, it was difficultfor any socialdancetraditionto get established.The earlyRepub-
lican elite applaudedTarcanzeybegi,but the Turkishstate was more interestedin dis-
playingregionaldancesin their diversitythan promotingnationwideone single dance
genre.
In their earlierpractices,the regionaldanceswere altogetherframedas "national
dances"(milli oyunlar)and were importantculturalassets in the constructionof na-
tional identity(see Araz I954).The varietyof regionaldancesserveda conceptof "rich
culture,"which the state used to tone down the ethnic diversityof its post-Ottoman
population.Everyregionalparticularitywas acknowledgedas long as it contributedto
the unique richnessof a Turkishculture.Folk dance thus becamea heightenedvisual
symbol of the new state, used in internationalencountersincludingnationalcelebra-
tions and touristicevents. Nevertheless,besides state interestin folk dance, indepen-
dent interestgroups also contributedto the developmentof folk dancingin Turkey.
Teachers,managers,musicians,tailors,and festivalcoordinatorsfound in this newly
growingfolk danceindustryeconomicbenefitsas much as politicalones.28
Between I930 and I960, native dancersenthusiasticallyperformedtheir regional
dancesas partof the nation-buildingprogram.But beginningin the I97os,urbanper-
formerswho were exposedto a largerrepertorythan theirpredecessorsapproachedfolk
dance more as a "social"dance experiencethan a "national"one. In this respect,folk
dancingin contemporaryTurkeytook on new dimensionswhen comparedwith Selim
Sirn Tarcan'sconceptof nationaldance.To Tarcan,nationaldancehad to be invented,
modernized,and stylized based on the folk dance motifs, while the Republicanfolk

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dance traditiongrew out of a historicalprocess into a structuredmovement system
basedon the mutualimpactof regionalfolk dances.29

ModernDanceAllaTurca:SelmaSelimSirr and HerNotionof BediiRakslar

As a child of the Young Turk Revolutionand an enthusiasticfollowerof Republican
reforms,Selma Selim Sirr approacheddance and nationalismin differentways from
her father.More than the concept of "nationaldance,"her interestwas in the art of
dance and choreography.Her 1926bookletSelmaSelimSirr Hanzm'nBedii Rakslar
(The Aesthetic Dances of Miss SelmaSelim Slrn), which will be examinedin this sec-
in which she poses in "zeybek
tion, focuseddirectlyon the art of dance.A picture30 cos-
tumes"with her fatherand her youngersister,Azade31suggeststhat Tarcancommuni-
catedhis knowledgeof folk danceto both of his daughters,but how they pursuedit in
theirdancingcareersis still unknown.
The only occasionthat mergeddance and nationalismin Selma'scareerhappened
in 1934,when Ozsoy,the first"nationalopera"of Turkeywas staged.Atatirk desiredto
prove that the new Turkish cultureembracedWestern classicalmusic and ordereda
nationalopera to be composed by Turkish musicians.Ironically,he wanted this na-
tional opera to be performedduring the visit of the Iranianruler, Shah Pahlavi,to
modernTurkey.32 Adnan Sayguncomposedthe operawithin a month. Ozsoy'slibretto,
writtenby Miinir Hayri Egeli, used motifs from CentralAsian Turkicmythologies,a
theme suggestedby Atatiirkhimself. In the earlyyears of the Republic,the Central
Asian roots of the Turkswere frequentlyused in the making-upof the new national
Turkishidentity. Selma and Azade Selim Sirn were in chargeof choreographingthe
dancepieces for this nationaloperaand traineda numberof studentschosen from dif-
ferent schools in Ankara.Unfortunately,the documentationof these dances has not
survived,which makes Selma Selim Sim's booklet the only availablesourceto reflect
her approachto dance.
Selma Selim Slrr's life story revealshow her approachto dance had been shaped
since her childhood.As a memberof the late Ottoman and earlyRepublicanelite, she
was well exposedto Western artsandwaysof life. At the age of four,she was left in the
handsof a Germannanny.She was then preparedfor the Germanschool, and studied
there until the school was closed duringWorld War I. Her educationcontinued at
home with privatetutoringin Frenchand English,while her fathertook chargeof her
educationin Turkishliteratureand in physicaltraining.An articlewrittenby Tarcanin
a popularmagazinein I929gave a detailedaccountof how he and his wife raisedtheir
two daughters.He took pride as a fatherin his children'shealth and strength:"We
made them live close to nature,"he stated,and "theybenefitedfromwater,sun, airand
movement"(Tarcan1929).In the introductionto her booklet, Selma also stated that
her father gave great importanceto the modern notion of the "healthybody."Un-
doubtedly,he was a strong influenceon his daughtersand directedthem in dancing.
Selmafollowedin her father'sfootsteps,going to Berlin,where she studiedBediiJim-
nastik(Aesthetic/RhythmicGymnastics),a trainingprogramthat she must havecom-

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 pleted in I930. She recountedin her booklet that she took privatedancelessons in Is-
tanbul before her departurefor Berlin, first from an Americanwoman named Miss
Filler and later from a Russian refugee, Mile Kovarski.When she was assigned to
choreographthe dancepieces for Ozsoy,she was probablyamong the veryfew women
who were trainedin that field.
The bookletwhich was publishedbeforeher departurefor Berlinwas composedof
two parts:"BediiRakslar"(AestheticDances) gave an overviewof historicaland mod-
ern forms of dance;"RaksNasil Ogrenilir?"(How Does One Learnto Dance?)elabo-
ratedon the processof dancetraining.In the firstsection,she recountedher own expe-
rienceas a dancer.As with theirfather,IsadoraDuncanbecamea greatinspirationfor
her and her sister. Selma referredto a concept of mevzunraks(rhythmicdance), a
dance genre she enrichedwith narrativecharacteristics.With her sister, she choreo-
graphedand performedtwo pieces of that kind,both inspiredby Europeanhistoryand
literatureinstead of a "national"theme. The first piece consisted of the life story of
Madame de Pompadour,mistressof Louis XV, and the secondwas based on Shake-
speare'sMacbeth, which Selma describedas a "grotesque" dance, possiblyreferringto
the tragicaspectof the piece (Fig. 8).
In the firstsectionof her booklet, Selmaexplainedher own definitionof dance.For
her it was a stageproduction,an artisticperformance,which rankedforemostin the hi-
erarchyof movementsystems.Acrobatics,for example,became a lesser genre within
this hierarchy.She wrote:
There is a ratherbizarreidea that I keephearingfromsophisticatedwomen.
They tell me "We'veseen a I2-year-oldgirl at the theater.She was flyinglike a
bird,twistedherbodylike a snake.Her bodywas so flexiblethat one thinksof
her as boneless."UsuallyI hold myselfto keepquiet.Theyjust do not knowthat
these childrenwhose bones aretwistedinto manyshapesbeforetheywereeven
15end up laterwith curvedbacksandhuge uglylegs. (SelmaSelim Sirn r926, 5)
This statement conformedto Duncan's definition of dance, in which she despised
those "whowalkedon theirtoes, put theirlegs overtheirheads,or bent theirbodies all
the way back" (quoted in Tarcan 1992, I77). For Selma, an important difference existed
between creativedance and social or ballroomdance. She identifiedherselfprimarily
with creativedance and describedsocial dance as a performancein which dance was
"consumed."Like Duncan, she legitimizedher criticismwith historicalreferencesto
ancientGreeks,whom she claimednevertreateddanceas an activityin which one en-
gaged merelyfor pleasureand entertainment:"WhatI mean by dance is not the fox-
trot, or anyotherinternationaljumping!What I meanrefersto the originalmeaningof
the word as used in Ancient Greece,the bediihareketler (aestheticmovements)"(Selma
Selim Slrn I926, 5). In line with her reservationsaboutperceivingdanceas a meansfor
pleasure,Selma followed her father'sthoughts in emphasizingthat movement was
more importantthan music. She translatedthese ideas for her readers,foregrounding
the communicativepurposeof dance:

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 A-1 I~ -I(IC -.-- . I- z~LTr
- -

ii
2..

I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A! _;iI
i

Figure8. ScenesfromDanse de Pompadourand thegrotesqueMacbeth,performedby SelmaSe-

lim Srr and hersisterAzade.

Dance is not a mereaccompanimentto music;it is not a simpleharmonybe-

tween soundand movement.This maybe what is generallyexpectedfrom
dance,but this harmonyshouldnot be the purposeof dance.The purposeof
danceis to expressthe sound,poetry,harmonyreflectedin our souls,with our
hands,feet and head-in shortwith all the movementsthat we can do with our
body. (Selma Selim Sim 1926,z)
Dance was not, therefore,somethingto be enjoyedor consumedby the vieweras mere
entertainment,but rather a performer-centeredand quintessentialform of exercise.
Selmaconcededthat not everyonecouldreachthe most elevatedformof dance,but en-
joying movementin some formwas the path to a healthylife: "Everybodycan do gym-
nastics and benefit from it. They may train their body everyday with regularmove-
ments, to strengthenthe musces, lungs, and heart,and to a certainextentto rectifythe
defectsof the body"(Selma Selim Srr I926,5).
Moving as a gymnastled to a disciplinedand aestheticizedbody, but one had to
have a specialtalent to be a good dancer.Exercisingon a regularbasis simply created
the infrastructure,which could only then be mobilized by talent. The discourse
throughoutthe booklet revealsthat Selmawas quite self-assuredof her own talents.In
orderto illustrateher ideas, she describedthe two pieces she choreographedwith her
sister.The themes Selma selected in one of her choreographiesproved to contradict

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 her ideas about her own gender. She was, on the one hand, criticalof women with
"trivial"approachesto dance (such as those who confusedacrobaticswith dance),and
of performerswho displayedonly nakednessor elasticityof the body. On the other
hand, she could praiseMarquisede Pompadour,who became,throughher wiles, the
mistressof Louis XV: "This unique woman who succeededto become the lover of
LouisXV, took this womanizingking underher control,and reignedin Francealmost
on her own afterconqueringthe whole Palace"(Selma Selim Slrn 1926,3-4). Selma's
interest in Madame de Pompadour'simage had two implications.First, in her ap-
proach to artisticcreativity,she directlylooked to the West ratherthan to national
themes, and in so doing, adopted a form of Occidentalism.Second, her fascination
with Madamede Pompadourcarriedtracesof the orientalistimageryof the Ottoman
harem,wherewomen'spowergamesruledthe empirebehindthe scenes.As in the ori-
entalistharem,Madame de Pompadourhad broughtthe king underher influenceby
using his weaknessfor pleasureand entertainment,and performedfor him various
"spectaculardances"(ihtifamlirakslar).Based on paintingsof Madamede Pompadour
and her perceptionof how women dancersdressedand movedunderthe heavydresses
of their time, Selma reconstructeda dancewith a historicaltheme, which she named
Danse de Pompadour. It was curiousthat she found no problemwith a mistressusing
dance to seduce a king, while in a later section she reproachedwomen acrobatswho
displayedtheirbodies, ratherthan their art. Of this lattergroup,she wrote:
There is no relationshipwhatsoeverbetweenthese acrobatgirlsand ballerinas
or rhythmicdances.If you undressthese girlswith stagemake-upand colorful
costumes,throwingtheirlegs here and there,you wouldget disgustedby the
disproportionof theirbody.These do not performthe artof dance,but exhibit
theirbody-as if they haveone! (SelmaSelim Sirr I926, 5)
For Selma,partsof the body couldbe barewhile dancing,yet one shouldnot dance
for the primarypurposeof exhibitingthe nakedpartsof the body. "Dance,"she wrote,
"shouldbe used as a vehiclefor displayingthe beautyof a body,but only that of a well-
exercised,well-trained,gymnast'sbody"(Selma Selim Sirr 1926, 5). Here, she did not
forget that talentwas also essentialfor dancingbut that talent for dancedid not guar-
antee a proportionatebody.
To Selma Selim Sirr, nakednesswas necessaryonly to show the naturalaspectsof
the movements,and thereforewas tolerablewithin the contextof artisticperformance.
However,she stronglyopposedusing nakednessfor the purposesof seductionand then
labelingthis activity"dance."She did not bringup the issue of a "healthybody,"unless
it was relatedto the concept of a "well-proportioned body."In that, she undoubtedly
sided with the Young Turk understandingof modernizationas synonymouswith "or-
der."Here, the concept of "orderliness" was associatedwith the West, as opposed to
the chaoticappearancesthat madeup the image of the Orient.As a child of the Young
Turk and Republicanera, it was obviousthat Selma Selim Sirn also believedin radical
changeand reflectedthis in the didacticdiscourseof her booklet.If not in activepoli-

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tics, writingon danceprovidedher with a groundto proposechangein the traditional
waysof looking at movementand body.

ThePoliticalandSocial of Dancein the Works

of SelimSirriTarcanand SelmaSelim Sirri
The relationof dance and movementto politics has manydimensions.One such con-
nection is drawnbetween folk dance and the nation-buildingprocess,as was the case
for Selim Sirn Tarcan'sapproachto "nationaldance."Nevertheless,a particulardance
genre may also have significancein termsof the politicsof the socialmilieuin which it
is performed,Selma Selim Sim's conceptof bediiraks(aestheticdance)being a case in
point. Like her father, Selma Selim Sim's approachto dance carriedtraces of the
Young Turk ideas about westernization.Her writing on modern dance reflectedthe
new nationalaspirationsto look to the West for all artisticand culturalmatters.She
was eagerto catchup with her Europeancounterpartsand believedin her role-as part
of the earlyRepublicanTurkish elite-to change society. She deliberatelytaught her
readersthat dance shouldbe taken seriouslyand despisedapproachingit as an activity
to be "consumed"and "enjoyed." In statingthat dancewas a "sublimeact,"she also re-
inforced her own position as a pioneer of this new approach,attachingto dance a
significancewithin the politics of the Republicanelite communityin which she lived
andperformed.Her being includedin the Ozsoyoperaprojectclearlyshowedher privi-
leged positionvis-a-vis otherdancersof the sameera.33
Father and daughterproposed new genres of dance, whose main characteristic
would be the "Westernlook."Both the Tarcanzeybegiand the bediiraks(Selma Selim
Sir's choreographies)"lookWestern"not only in termsof theirform,but also in their
openings to a new lifestyle.They challengedMuslim-Ottomantraditionby bringing
women to the public dance space.Tarcantrainedhis studentsat the Girls Teachers'
College for publicperformancesand SelmaSelim Slrn stagedher choreographieswith
her sisterandwith her studentsin the operaOzsoy. SelmaSelim Sir also took the rev-
olutionarystep to appearon stage with uncoveredarmsand legs; nuditywas a taboo
that she carefullyquestionedbut also confronted.Tarcan'sdance also lookedWestern
becauseit brought"mixedcouples"to the center of the dance space.Tarcan'sdream
was to make his choreographedzeybeka social dance.While tryingto reach Swedish
"refinement" in folk dancing,he also offeredthe new Turkishsocietyan entertainment
form,which they couldperformin publicsettingslike their Europeancounterparts.
Folk dancebecamea social dancein Turkeymuch laterand in a more limitedway
than Tarcanimagined.Beginning in the 1970s,young dancers(seven to twenty-five)
benefitedfromthe socializingthat evolvedaroundfolk dancingeventsin schoolsandin
folk danceclubs.During the long rehearsals,year-endperformances,and tripsabroad,
childrenof middle-classfamiliesfound a legitimateplaceto socializewith the opposite
sex underthe auspicesof folk danceactivities.34There, however,they could danceonly
underthe regulationsof the teachers,ratherthan for merepleasure.Folk dance,espe-

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 cially the halaygenre,35continued to be performedin entertainmentcontexts when
dancefolloweda ceremonialdinner.
It is not knownwhetherthis imagerywould fit with Tarcan'sdreamof combining
folk dance and social dance in modernTurkey.As for Selma Selim Sirn's dreamfor
"aestheticdances"to be widely performed,almost a centuryhad to pass before that
reachedfruition.Although the first ballet school was foundedin I948 in Istanbul,the
institutionalizationof moderndance occurredonly in the late I98os,with a handfulof
dancerswho initiatedthe firstmoderndancedepartmentsunderthe State Conservato-
riesin AnkaraandIstanbul.
The worksof Tarcanand Selma Selim Sirr show how dancewas perceivedin the
newlyestablishedRepublicof Turkey.Markinga shift from Ottomandancetraditions
(urbanprofessional,religious,and regional),they both offered a more Western ap-
proach to dance, either by refining regionaldances or by adopting the newly rising
moderndancegenre.In the contextof westernizingthe TurkishRepublic,Tarcanand
Selma Selim Sirr proposednew genresof dancethat carriedcontinuitiesand disconti-
nuities with the Ottoman world. These genreswere expectedto dominatefutureap-
proachesto dancein Republicantimes.The historicalcoursethroughwhich the Tarcan
Zeybegiand bediiraksgenresevolvedsince the turn of the nineteenthcenturydeserves
furtherresearch.In that respect,as pioneersof a new approachto dance,the worksof
Selim Sirn Tarcanand Selma Selim Sirrlcontinueto inspiredance scholarsto inquire
into the transformationof these imagineddancegenresthroughoutthe historyof Re-
publicanTurkey.

Notes

I. I wouldliketo thankDr. ZehraToska Revolutionreplacedthe useof the turbanor

who brought Selma Selim Srrm'soriginal
manuscript to myattention,Dr. ZeynepSa-
buncuwho transcribed the text, andMutlu
Oztiirkwho sharedhis researchmaterialon
SelimSirnTarcanwith me.
2. For a more detailedhistoricalanaly-
sis, see StephaneYerasimos(I987).
3. This book was printedtwice in the
new alphabet,first in I948 and again in
I992. See Tarcan (I948; I992).
4. Zeybekis a dancegenreperformedin
the Aegeanregion,with a veryslowrhythm
and wide arm and leg movements.For a
moredetailedexplanationof the genre,see
Ozbilgin (2000).
5. Turkey adopted many reforms to
westernizethe society at large. The Hat was a boom in ballroomdancingand folk
fez with the Western-stylefelt hat in 1926.
The sameyear new civil, penal, and com-
mercialcodeswere adoptedalongwith the
Western calendarand internationaltime-
table.In I928,alphabetreformmadea tran-
sitionfromthe Arabicscriptto the Latinal-
phabet.The same year the Turkishstate
was secularizedto eliminatethe articleof
the I924 Constitution that stated, "The reli-
gion of the Turkishstateis Islam."In I93I
the metric system was acceptedand in I934a
law was passedto adopt new last names.
The sameyear,womenweregiventhe right
to vote.
6. The RepublicforegroundedWestern
forms of dance instead. In the I930S there

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dancesbegan to be staged.The National had seen before. Nothing could be more
Ballet was establishedin 1948.
7. Despite the oppression,however,both
the Alevi ritual cem and its semahssurvive.
For more detail, see Oztiirkmen (I995).
8. The surnames were ordered by the
Sultan and preparedin imperial studios fol-
lowing imperial festive events. Beginning in
the sixteenth century,every Ottoman sultan
organized at least one such large event to
impose his mark on the age in which he
reigned. The I582 festival held in honor of
the circumcision of Murat III's son, the
1675festival for Mehmet IV's son's circum-
cision and his daughter'swedding, and the
1720 festival held in honor of Ahmet III's
sons' circumcision ceremonies were among
the most important festive events.
9. For a detailed analysis of professional
urban dancing of the Ottomans, see And
(1976, I982).
Io. Women dancers were mostly drawn
as independent images in the special albums
of the imperial studios. See Levni's famous
fengi painting (Fig. 4) and the dancing ser-
vant at a local hostel (Fig. 5).
ii. Note the following passage by Lady
Mary Wortley Montague, dated 1767:"The
tunes are extremely gay and lively, yet with
something in them wonderfiullysoft. The
steps are varied, according to the pleasure
of her that leads the dance, but always in
exact time, infinitely more agreeable than
any of our dances, at least in my opinion
... Her fair maids were ranged below the
Sofa, to the number of twenty, and put me
in mind of the pictures of the ancient
nymphs. I did not think all nature could
have furnished such a scene of beauty. She
made them a sign to play and dance. Four
of them immediately began to play some
soft airs on instruments, between a lute and
a guitar, which they accompanied with
their voices, while others danced by turns.
This dance was very different from what I
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artfil, or more proper to raise certainideas.
The tunes so soft!-The motions so lan-
guishing!-accompanied with pauses and
dying eyes; half-falling back and then re-
covering themselves in so artful a manner,
that I am very positive, the coldest and
most rigid prude upon earth, could not
have looked upon them without thinking of
something not to be spoken of" (quoted in
And I959: 31-32). For a deconstructive ap-
proach to the orientalist image of the Ot-
toman harem, see Peirce (I993). Also com-
pare the dancing boys (Fig. 3) from the
Ottoman miniatures to their orientalist de-
piction with a turban and a knife (Fig. 6)
engravedby a European artist.
I2. Nicholas von Haunolt wrote in I590
of the grotesque dancersperformingaround
the dancing boys: "Such strange jumping,
dancing and all other postures with his
stomach, which he pulled in and out, and
also shook his buttocks from side to side so
that it was positively disgusting to look at;
yet it pleased some of the noble Turks who
laughed on his account and praised him"
(quoted in And i976).
13. This type of professional urban
dancing did not survivein Republicantimes
for a variety of reasons, which undoubtedly
need further research. Changes in social
structurewere important factors in explain-
ing the fading from view of this type of
dancing. Not only did the non-Muslim
communities who formed the guilds immi-
grate elsewhere, but also the wealthy Ot-
toman elite who supported that dance fell
from power. In any case, the new Republi-
can regime was far from reviving the Ot-
toman tradition in any aspect of social life,
framing it as decadent and oriental. In Re-
publican times, this type of dancing par-
tially continued in the belly dancing tradi-
tion and the Fiftetelli genre in the Anatolian
and Thracian folk dance tradition.
Dance Research Journal35/1 (Summer 2003) 57
 Republicansocial gatheringsheld in ball-
I4. For individual case analyses, see Ing-
ber (i974), Martin (i974), Petrides (1988), rooms.
Silverman(1989),and Oztiirkmen (i994). In 24. For an analysisof Turkishnational
the Turkish case, the folk dance repertory holidays,see Oztiirkmen(200o).
reflected the regional diversity of the Ot- 25. For a theoreticalanalysisof "struc-
toman world, revealing the impact of Cau- tured movement system," see Kaeppler
casian, Balkan, Anatolian, and Mediterra- (I985).Formoredetailon the historyof the
nean culturalelements. Under the Republic, Turkishfolk dancemovement,see Oztiirk-
these regional dances evolved into a struc- men (2ooi).
tured movement system called 'folkloroyna- 26. ?erifBaykurt, thewell-knownTurk-
mak"(to dance folklore) which turned out ish folklorist,stated,for example,that he
to be very different from what Selim Sirm learnedzeybekdancesduringthe early1930S
Tarcan imagined. For a detailed analysis of in Kirklarelifrom his elementaryschool
the structuralchange in Turkish folk dance teacherIbrahimBey, a graduateof izmir
tradition, see Oztiirkmen (2002). MuallimMektebiwhereSelimSirr taught.
I5. The Committee of Union and Prog- Accordingto OktayCengizay,schoolteach-
ress stayed in power until the collapse of the ers continuedto teachzeybekdancesin the
empire afterWorld War I. Bahkesirareauntil the 1940S(Baykurtand
i6. See $uenu and Sami (I914-1928). Cengizay I992).
The book does not have a publication date, 27. Peoples'Houses and the state-con-
except for a note on the printing house as trolledschool system,for example,offered
331-329, referring to I9i4-1928. institutionalspaces for the spreadof re-
17. Not all Young Turk intellectuals gional,not social,dances.
were able to make such a smooth transition. 28. For the politicsof folkloreand folk
Riza Tevfik, for example, was exiled from dancein Turkey,see Cefkin(I993) andOz-
modern Turkey, along with i5o other intel- tiirkmen (I993).
lectuals. 29. For an ethnographyof this new
i8. For Selim Sirr Tarcan's biography, movementsystem,see Oztiirkmen(forth-
see Oztiirk (I992). coming).
19. Tarcan's other works include Garpta 30. The picture is reprintedin Arzu
Hayat (Life in the West, 1929), Bugiinkii Oztiirkmen (I997).
Almanya (Today's Germany, I930) and Se- 31. Whatis knownofAzade,theyounger
lim Sirri Tarcan:Hatiralart(Selim Sirn Tar- daughterof SelimSirnTarcanis ratherlim-
can: Memoirs, 1946). ited. It is clearthat she followedher sis-
20. Tarcan quotes Isadora Duncan and ter in her careeras a dancerand physical
Emile-Jacques Dalcroze, but he does not trainer.She specializedin SwedishGym-
mention Artur Hazelius when referring to nastics, in which she traineda group of
the stylization of folk dances in Sweden. young dancersin the earlyi98os in Istan-
21. Here, he must have meant "arts" bul.There,she expressedherwish to retire
ratherthan "dance." and transferher knowledgeto the younger
22. Mustafa Kemal Atatiirk was the generations.One of the participantsin her
founder of the Republic of Turkey, a na- classes,Nazl Deniz Kuruoglu,recalledher
tional hero, and the executor of the Repub- as an extremelydisciplinedteacher,arro-
lican reforms for Westernization. gant at times and authoritarian in her re-
23. The term salon refers to the early lationswith the students.FamousTurkish

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