Participants

AJAR DUISHEMBIEVA

Ajar is a PhD student at the Kyrgyz-Turkish Manas University and has been part of "Manas Kizlari" folk dance group for six years. She has performed Turkic (Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Turkish, and Tuvin) dances in Turkey and various regions of Kyrgyztan. At TurkFest, Ajar will perform a Kyrgyz dance accompanied by two traditional Kyrgyz songs "Esimde" and "Ming Kyial"

ANADOLU TURKISH FOLK DANCERS

This group was founded in 1979 and has performed in the Northwest for many years. At TurkFest, the group presents authentic Turkish folk dances from the Aegean, Thrace, Black Sea, Southern, and Southeastern regions of Turkey. The group includes dancers of all ages from various ethnic backgrounds, many of whom are also instructors. Instructors/Dancers: Serhad Ataktürk, Tamar Hoge, Yasemin San, Rana San, and Serdar Soysal. Dancers: Hamza Ak, Erdal Bayseçkin, Deniz Bozkus, Zeynep Ertugay, Hilal Guzelis, Ayse Hunt, Turgay Kacar, Capri Karaca, Melissa McCall, Izumi Fairbanks, Cigdem Oren, Aysin Uysal, Nazife Uzun, Suna Wroe.

BARIŞ KOCA

After graduating from the electronics-engineering department of Hacettepe University, Barış began taking photographs in 1998. His photographs were awarded in several national and international photo contests while he continued to work as an engineer. For the last year and a half, Barış has been passionately pursuing professional nature and wildlife photography. In 2009, he began volunteering for the Nature Society (Doğa Derneği) whose main goal is to protect the nature in Turkey. He is now the photography editor of the society's "Nature Magazine" and is working on a project to photograph the natural heritage of Anatolia.

BOĞAZIÇI

Boğaziçi was formed in 2008 and performed pop music at TurkFest last year. This year , Boğaziçi has gained valuable vocalists and Turkish musicians, achieving its ideal formation. New members include Okan Altug (kanun guru), Murat Ince (darbouka guru), Huseyin Altug (drum & def pro), Nedim Keskin (darbouka guru and vocalist), and Nursen Demiroz (beautiful voice). Onur Domanic (bass), Caglar Pir (electric guitar), Gunes Dikmen (flute & vocals) and Batuhan Biyikoglu (keyboard) are from last year's band.

CAVIDAN DOĞAN

Cavidan, a native of Adana, Turkey, graduated from the University of Cukurova with a degree in Civil Engineering. She retired after working for the State Water Utilities Department for 22 years as a project engineer and she became a full-time artist pursuing her passion for painting. Following her nine-year training in oil painting, she participated in eight group exhibitions. She continues to pursue her artistic talent not only in oil painting but also in designing costumes and creating dolls in traditional outfits.

CHET CORPT

Chet began his study of Ottoman classical music and the ney in 1981 at the UW with two modern giants of the art, Niyazi Sayın and Necdet Yaşar. Later, he studied style and repertoire with Münir Nurettin Beken and played in his ensemble for four years. During this time, he traveled to Turkey for further ney instruction with Niyazi Sayın and Ömer Erdoğdular.

CRAIG JACOBROWN – KARAGOZ HACIVAT

Craig Jacobrown was born to American parents in Turkey. He was introduced to Karagoz and Hadjivat as a child in Gaziantep. Later, after he became an actor and puppeteer and had received his BA in Anthropology, he was asked to create and perform the shadow puppets for an adaptation of an old Karagoz script.He has remained a "Hayali" ever since. Craig's passion is mask and puppet traditions from all over the world. There is always a soft spot in Craig's heart for his Karagoz shows, for they allow all the voices in his head to come out.

GIGI GULHAN

Gigi Gulhan was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey. She made her first Belly dance appearance on the stage of Apdi Ipekci Stadium at the age of eight. Since then, she has been in love with this dance form. Gigi is fluent in Turkish and Arabic styles of dance, but best known for her Turkish Belly Dance and Turkish Romany (Gypsy) Dance. www.Gigi-Gulhan.com.

MELISSA MCCALL

Eurhythmy is an expressive movement art that Melissa will perform to the famous poem Istanbul'u Dinliyorum. In speech eurhythmy, all the sounds of language have characteristic gestural qualities and movement is connected to rhythms, meter, grammar, mood, and sounds of speech.

MEZE

Meze Fasil Group was formed by community volunteers in late 2009. Ever since, the group has been inseparable, losing themselves to Turkish classical music every opportunity they get. They are ecstatic to be part of TurkFest and they look forward to reaching out with their music.

PINAR OZHAL

Pınar offers cooking classes in Seattle and will demonstrate how to make a few delectable selections from Turkish cuisine.

SILK ROAD DANCE COMPANY

The award-winning Silk Road Dance Company (SRDC) presents women's dances from the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, China and the Caucasus. Founded by Artistic Director Dr. Laurel Victoria Gray in 1995, the ensemble's performances offer a unique glimpse of the life, culture, and art of little known regions. Silk Road Dance Company is dedicated to the preservation, promulgation, and evolution of women's endangered dance forms, traditions, and costumes from cultures along the Great Silk Road trade route linking China with the Mediterranean.

ŞULE DİNCEL

Şule has been using watercolor for the past six years. Her paintings embody self-portraits with different figures and faces. She uses female figures to explore ideas of feminism, death, marriage, love, gambling, and pregnancy. Şule"s paintings often reflect a somber mood and incorporate a variety of media including watercolor pencils, nail polish, gouache, finger paints, fiber pens, and salt.

VANCOUVER TURKISH CHOIR with MUSIKI PAREA

The choir has been performing together for over two years

and members of Musiki Parea (a group playing Turkish and Greek music since 2000) have joined them in the last year. All instruments, except the violin, are played by Musiki Parea members. The group has performed together at various multicultural festivals and celebrations and this year they join the festival from Vancouver, BC.