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On April 28, a dance group called "Devinimler
Dans Topluluğu" gave a performance as part of the Ankara Müzik
Festivali organized by the Sevda Cenap And Müzik Vakfı. Radio Bilkent
interviewed the dancers in order to learn more about this unique
ensemble.
The Devinimler Dance Group is the first and only dance group in Turkey
made up of physically challenged dancers. Its members had originally met
at the Association for the Physically Challenged, whose president, Faruk
Öztimur, offered them the opportunity of forming a group, which they did
in June 2004. Additional support came from the Sevda Cenap And Müzik
Vakfı, the Okyanus Dance Studio, Çankaya Belediye Başkanlığı, the
Başbakanlık Office for the Physically Challenged and the British
Council.
The ensemble has so far given three performances, all of them at the
Şura Salonu in Ankara. The members say that they have not faced many
difficulties, except for getting used to wheelchairs, since the women in
the group do not actually use them in their everyday lives.
The dancers say that in addition to sending out a message to the
physically challenged that they, too, are part of society, their overall
aim is to prove that all people, whether physically challenged or not,
are equal. We are sure that after watching the Devinimler Dance Group,
you will agree.
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