INTERNATIONAL ROMA DAY - SAN FRANCISCO - APRIL 5, 2013 - 6:30-11:30 PM

7:30 PM - Sonia Seeman and Reyhan/Hüsnü Tuzsuz lecture/demo: 
"Turkish Romani dance and the role of female performers"

Sonia Seeman: "While Turkish Roman dance has recently become a new
staged form of performance, the contributions of dancers such as
Reyhan Tuzsuz is unusual in that she represents a non-professional form
of dance within Turkey. What does this form of dance mean for the 
growing empowerment of Romani women? How does this support or conflict 
with traditional gender norms? In this talk, I will discuss Romani non-
professional forms of entertainment by women within their own
communities, and the role of female professionalization. I will set the 
emergence of Romani stage dance in its historical context by providing 
background on professional and non-professional dance traditions in 
Turkish Romani communities."

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