Fire of Anatolia

The Fire of Anatolia or Anadolu Ateşi is a Turkish dance group consisting of 120 dancers, several choreographers and other technical staff. The group has performed in more than 40 countries from the USA to China and Japan, in front of an audience of approximately 6 million people altogether [ [http://www.fireofanatolia.com/FrontsideEN/tarihce1.aspx Fire of Anatolia History] ] . Fire of Anatolia holds two Guinness records, one for fastest dance performance [ [http://www.warsawvoice.pl/view/14286/ Fire of Anatolia] ] with 241 steps per minute [ [http://www.anadoluatesi.com/Frontside/pasteventdetails.aspx?yearid=1&yearname=2005 Fire of Anatolia - Past Events - 09 Agustos] ] and another for largest audience, 400 000 people in Ereğli, in the Black Sea region of the country [ [http://www.fireofanatolia.com/FrontsideEN/tarihce1.aspx Fire of Anatolia - History] ] . The head of the group is Mustafa Erdoğan.

History

The concept of a large dance group performing Anatolian dances mixed with modern dance and ballet was a long desired dream of Mustafa Erdoğan, who conducted folk dance studies at Bilkent University. In 1999 he established the foundations of the group then called "Sultans of the Dance". There were advertisements published in local newspapers in search of dancers. Out of 750 applicants Mustafa chose 90, who started working on their physical and dance abilities, under strict supervision. The masters of the dance company educate their dancers themselves, teaching them the basics of ballet, modern dance or folk dance, depending on the dance educational background and the area the dancers need improvements in.

The group had its first performances in 2001 and started a world tour a year later, already under the name "Fire of Anatolia". The number of dancers now reaches 120, which means that the group is able to perform the same show in two or three different locations at the same time. According to Erdoğan, Fire of Anatolia is currently among the three largest dance groups in the world. [ [http://www.kanalturk.com.tr/yazar.php?yazarlar_id=808 Mustafa Erdoğan “Anadolu Ateşi” ile gerçekleşen hayallerini ve yeni projelerini Ece Pirim’e anlattı ("Mustafa Erdoğan talked to Ece Pirim about his upcoming projects and his realized dreams with Anadolu Atesi)] - Kanalturk tr icon] . The dance group has performed so far in more than 40 countries, including the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Russia, Qatar, China, Japan, Kazakhstan and Egypt, just in front of the Pyramids.

The programs they currently perform are named "Fire of Anatolia" and "Dawool", the latter of which is "built on rhythm. It begins with a religious scene, then a romantic duet and continues with drum sessions. We wanted to reflect Istanbul with it, its multiculturalism, the mixture of cultures and religions" ("Oktay Keresteci, ballet coreographer") [ [http://www.zene.hu/cikkek/cikk.php?id=8978&currentPage=2 A különleges tűz Szegedet is felperzselte - exkluzív interjú a főszereplővel (The special fire burnt Szeged as well - Exclusive interview with the main character)] - Zene.hu hu icon]

Main Staff

Besides the 120 dancers, there are several people working for the project. The main choreographers are Mustafa Erdoğan, who is responsible for halay and the dances of the Southern region of Turkey, while Alper Aksoy collects elements from the dances of the Aegean Region and Oktay Keresteci does the modern dance and ballet coreography. [ [http://www.zene.hu/cikkek/cikk.php?id=8978&currentPage=1 Zene.hu Interview, page 1] ] It's an interesting fact that Oktay Keresteci, one of Turkey's most acknowledged ballet dancers and teachers [ [http://www.idobale.com/kadro.php The member list of the State Opera and Ballet - Ministry of Culture of the Turkish Republic] ] , still performs on stage with Fire of Anatolia, despite his 48 years of age.

* General Director and Coreographer: Mustafa Erdoğan
* Supervisor: Yılmaz Erdoğan
* Coordinator: Aşkım Darcan
* Music: Taner Demiralp, Fuat Saka, Mustafa Erdoğan
* Coreography: Oktay Keresteci, Alper Aksoy
* Costume: Sultan Gözcü Özel
* Makeup Design: Serkan Aydın
* Stage Manager: Volkan Emisoğlu

References

External links

* [http://www.fireofanatolia.com Fire of Anatolia Official Site]
* [http://www.baris1981.com Baris Dance Company]