Salty sea dogs in dance spectacular

Coming from the State Opera and Ballet of Turkey their performance was one of the highlights of the Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture. Barbarossa is a dance and music production, inspired by the life of the Captain of the Sea Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha and the phenomenal activities of Turkish raiders in the Mediterranean in the 16th century.

This is a modern ‘dance-drama’, which brings together various artistic practices such as modern dance, music, visual design and literature on a common platform, while dramatizing one of the most important elements of Turkey, the sea. The production is performed by an ensemble of 40 dancers from Istanbul, Samsun, Mersin, Antalya, Ankara and Izmir State Ballets.

Written and choreographed by Beyhan Murphy, who is one of the iconic figures in ‘Turkish Dance’, the piece also carries the signature of the well-known world music artist Mercan Dede, as musical director; it is the third successful collaboration between Beyhan Murphy and Mercan Dede.

The dancers inclulde Arkın Zirek, Ejder Keskin, Onur Tunay, Can Tunalı, Burak Kayıhan, Dolun Doyran, Kıvanç Ekin, Oliver Spence, Murat Özdemir, Bahadır Ovacıklı, Egemen Kement, Benan Göktan, Hakan Odabaşı, Ender Üçdemir, İlke Kodal, Deniz Aygör, Deniz Alp, Esra Taner, Aslı Güneş Sümer, Ilgaz Erdağ, Ilke Sayiner, Emre Orgut, while choreography is in the hands of Beyhan Murphy.

Tickets are very reasonably priced at €15 and concessions for students and senior citizens are at €10. Children of 12 years and under enter for free. Tickets are on sale from www.maltaticket.com, Exotique, Agenda, Bookends, Newskiosk, and Mdina Kiosk and at the door of the performance. For more information log on to www.maltaartsfestival.org.