Do you
think only Turkish people can do Turkish folk dancing? Well, imagine a folk dance class in
which two-thirds of the students are foreigners. But maybe it's wrong to call them
foreigners, because they are living their lives as if they were Turkish. They travel
around Turkey, make Turkish friends, eat Turkish foods and, most importantly, speak
Turkish. Who are we talking about? Bilkent University's international exchange students,
who come from a number of different countries. This year's students have been in Turkey
for only three months, but it almost seems as if they are more Turkish than we are!
On Thursday nights, international and Turkish students come together for a folk dance
class under the instruction of Meral Koşma. This is the first time the class has been
given, thanks to the participation of the exchange students. Last year the class was
canceled because not enough students were interested in taking it. Ms. Koşma told Bilkent
News that she is very pleased to have the international students in her class. She noted
that although the music was at first totally strange to them, and although she gives dance
instructions in Turkish, these students have learned the steps and movements without
difficulty. They participate fully in all aspects of the class, playing the spoons,
singing Turkish songs, and sometimes even helping their Turkish classmates with the dance
steps!
A different rhythm, different moves, different language, but a common humanity--seeing
these students from other countries come together to dance our dances reminds us of the
beauty of our culture. It also makes us realize that we, as human beings, can all find a
way to communicate with each other if we really want to.
Gülay Acar (COMD/II)
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