By Heidi Trautmann

We came early and could still hear and see some dancers rehearse jumps, sequence of lift ups and turns, one girl crossed the wide stage in her tutu on her ballet shoes among boys doing automaton steps. The excitement of stage was in the air. The dream of so many youths since many generations. Dancing on a stage. My dream also when I was 10 years old.

But on the night of July 31 at the GAU Spectrum Hall it was the Academy Students showing their progress, showing pieces of choreography trained for weeks with their teachers and choreographers who were Suzie Heyjari, Lilya Birogül, Oleg Manukovsky, Osman Ateş, Toya Akpinar, Galip Emre; some dance sketches were choreographed by the students themselves. Some dancers were from Stage School and there was a dance group participating called Delivery Dogs. Their age, perhaps around 18 to 25 years? Great applause for the youngster group, not older than 10 to twelve years.

In 23 different dance sketches, in proper costumes, the dancers gave their best; their coordination among each other was good. It is rather difficult to coordinate steps and movements in a group, high concentration and many hours of training are required to come to this point, counting the steps aloud in front of large mirrors and teachers.

The Dance Academy is in its fifth year and new auditions will be held shortly for new students to enter; who will make it? Some of the performing students are in their first year, some have graduated, where will they go from here? We wish them good luck.

Thank you for the music, thank you for the show.

PS: It was hardly possible to make good pics.