Turkish delight
Richard Burnett
rburnett@hour.ca
|
Critically hailed Ilhan Karabacak
photo: Courtesy Ilhan Karabacak
|
I learnt how to belly dance one drunken night in Turkey with my best friend Seb from Istanbul when she and I dropped tens of thousands of liras in a boozy nightclub in the coastal town of Marmaris many years ago.I do remember I ran out to our pensione not once but twice at some ungodly hour to get more cash to pay our quickly escalating bar tab, but I don't remember how well I actually belly-danced. If our out-of-control bar tab was any indication, though, probably not very well at all.
It all came back to me last November when Seb and I witnessed the absolutely mesmerizing Turkish "modern oriental" dancer Ilhan Karabacak - just don't call him a male belly dancer - perform in the acclaimed Turkish production Hurrem Sultan at the 2005 Festival du Monde Arabe de Montréal.
Not only did Karabacak steal the show, he was so good he was invited back to Montreal to perform at the star-studded Gala des Étoiles by local impresario Victor Melnikoff this past Sept. 7 at Place des Arts. That night Karabacak rubbed elbows with such international dance glitterati as the young virtuoso Leonid Sarafanov of the Kirov Ballet.
The quietly out Karabacak has since been living in a one-room apartment exactly one block away from mine, teaching classes and enjoying Montreal in the lead-up to his much-anticipated return to the Festival du Monde Arabe next week. Then Ilhan returns home to cosmopolitan Istanbul.
"Travelling to Montreal was the first time I travelled outside Turkey," Ilhan explains as he shows
me his costumes, many he made himself. "But I've played on bigger stages in Turkey."Ilhan then pointedly adds, "But it doesn't matter to me if I dance for 3,000 people or for one person."
Unbelievably, Ilhan, 29, never studied to be a dancer. He began dancing in nightclubs a decade ago ("I danced in 2019, not just the biggest dance club in Turkey, but the biggest club in Europe"), then hooked up with a Turkish classical ballet company for three years before being hired to dance for two and a half years in the massive Hurrem Sultan production that is still dazzling Turkish audiences.
"I mixed all these styles together and came up with my own Oriental dance style," Ilhan explains, a style so captivating even the Cirque du Soleil has come knocking. "I am not a male belly dancer because male belly dancers are improvisational. There are many [male belly dancer] characters, but most of the time they are behaving as a woman."
About growing up in a macho Middle Eastern culture that still diminishes male dancers like himself by calling them faggots (or "ibne" in Turkish), Ilhan says, "If it is important to what people think about me, I just close my ears and dance. They have a small garden. But I have a big garden."
And a garden in full bloom, no less.
oooEssential buttplugs Ilhan Karabacak headlines Les Possédés (The Possessed) at the Festival du Monde Arabe de Montréal, Nov. 9-10 at Place des Arts. Reservations: 514-790-1245. If you want dance lessons with Karabacak, Ilhan teaches two more Oriental dance workshops at the Centre Jean-Claude-Malépart (2633 Ontario E.) on Nov. 11-12 (1-4:30 p.m., $50/day). Info: Ilhanworkshop@yahoo.com.
Also, the Farha Foundation hosts its next edition of Au Coeur de la Mode, Quebec's most important fashion fundraising event to fight HIV/AIDS, at the Palais des Congrès on Nov. 12 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Every major fashion designer will have booths selling their off-the-rack lines at discounted prices. See you there.
oooBurn me up Dancehall don Beenie Man has - along with Sizzla, Capleton, Buju Banton and other dancehall artists - deservedly taken a lot of flak in recent years for past lyrics advocating violence against gays and lesbians. Now Beenie Man headlines at Montreal's EB Resto Bar (formerly Rainbow-Ites) on Nov. 10.
Beenie Man recently defended Sizzla (read all about it in my Oct. 19 TDB column at http://hour.ca/columns/3dollarbill.aspx?iIDArticle=10603), but when I asked conscious natty dread Michael Franti - who played at the Spectrum last week, and whose latest album Yell Fire! was co-produced by Jamaica's legendary Riddim Twins Sly & Robbie - Franti said to me, "I don't support anti-gay lyrics but people can also say what they want to in their songs. That is freedom of speech. If you don't like what's being said, don't buy the record. Or go one step forward and make your own record. That's how I think we should combat hate."
Or, like myself, you could boycott Beenie Man's concert at EB Restobar and tell everybody you know.
| Ilhan Karabacak in Les Possédés |
|
My good friend brought me to see Les Possédés yesterday as part of the Festival du Monde Arabe de Montréal lineup and I have never seen anybody such as Ilhan Karabacak have complete control of his body in dance. Every move is intricate and very sensual. His dancing incorporates many different dance styles including baladi and classical ballet. He is truly impressive.
Les Possédés truly was a dance lover's delight by showcasing dance through Arab music. Mr. Karabacak was also accompanied at times by a female dancer making their dance exchange very beautiful by teasing each other just like two people checking each other out before mating. We also saw the Dervishes Whirling Dancers of Aleppo, three men all dressed in large white spinning around in large costumes orbiting around unusual trances.
All in all, les Possédés was very enjoyable and highlighted Karabacak's dancing prowess. Check out his Oriental workshops this weekend and you won't be disappointed!
|
|
Ronny Pangia
|
{34 votes}
|
|
|
It's a pleasure to hear that this young man would stay in a small apartment while giving a performance for the sake of entertaining any number of appreciators. And the fact that male belly dancing is not well looked at by macho Turks hasn't detered him.
I cannot believe that one would actually want people to believe that cultures which do not openly support gay performers would be adamant about figuratively burning people. If shouting burn in Jamaica is not intended to actually burn the gay person then it certainly doesn't instill any sense of wanting to enjoy a performance for artistic sake. Can't people leave their damn preferences home when it comes to appreciating art forms they can't identify with. This is modern oriental dancing at its best!
|
|
Martin Dansky
|
{23 votes}
|
|
|
you have to understand our culture we dont support homosexuality. i for one do believe that people are free to be what they want and if you are gay then you are gay. in jamaica we say burn to alot of thinhgs but its not a literal fire its just a purification. we burn jealousy, wickedness, rapers, gay people because we think that its wrong. the fire is for the purification and is not an actual fire to burn people. in jamaica there are alot of gay people and gay organization like jflag but we dont go around killing people. whenever there is a so callled hate crime its usually the lover of the deceased that committed the crime for whatever reason. so i just advise you guys to stop supproting the music, try to understand it or voice your opinion against it. but boycotting it doesnt do anything.
|
|
Alrick Marner
|
{24 votes}
|
|
|
If the butt isn't nice enough,then there is no point to see someone dance.
|
|
Bruno Lacasse
|
{2 votes}
|
|
|
I guess just looking at Ilhan picture I would pay 50$ a day to get him to teach me anything. ok back to serious. Ive been passionate about belly dancing for many years and because of my work load I cant learn or attend any festivals. This article was funny and made me really want to go back and learn about my passion which is arabic culture. I think my Tunesian boyfriend that I love so much would just CRACK if I danced as good Ilhan seems to dance... let me wait and see if Ill go and learn this great dance ! RIght now im sure I dance like RIchard ... ahem ahem ... with a little booze in my system ... hi hi hi
|
|
Nathalie Verbruggen
|
{3 votes}
|
|
|
