Welcome Ozgen to Atlanta!
Our raqs archivist, Andinha, lived in Toronto briefly and while there she attended the Bellydance Conference of Canada featuring Arabesque, Tito Seif, Aida Nour, Nath Keo, the Righteous Rogues of Raqs and a long list of amazing dancers. The series of shows was so incredible that it was named by many as one of the best conferences a dancer could attend! Ozgen was also there and spoke during one of the panels. Andinha shares the details here:
Ozgen is a great instructor but he also has a wealth of knowledge about men in dance and what goes on from a man's perspective. I'm not sure about now but being a male dancer at that time, you heard a lot of stories about odd reactions to them on stage and how rare it was in the west for men to dance. Now, those of us who grew up in the culture are fully aware that men dance. Men taught me everything I know about raqs sharqi and I do feel like Ozgen contributed to that knowledge during the conference.
In addition to being a great instructor and advisor in the world of cultural dance, in particular Turkish dance, he also has some really great energy and dance style. I'm excited about him coming to Atlanta, hosted by Atlanta Fusion Belly Dance. He will be teaching several classes and it is worth your while to get his perspective on where we are today in the industry as well as learn his technique in Turkish Romany. To say I'm excited is an understatement!
Attend Ozgun's workshops by registering here. We know you're going to have an amazing time and learn a lot!