My Travel Blog

I've had hooks on my costume pop open on stage twice. (You'd think I would have learned the first time.) The story below is not about a wardrobe malfunction, but about a different kind of wardrobe emergency I had this summer dancing in Bodrum, Turkey.

After acquiring not one, two, or even three, but FOUR brand-new costumes in one week, I was excited to the point of being overwhelmed. Which costume should get the spotlight first? I wondered.

I decided on the black ...

Since I returned to Turkey in January 2011, I've been lucky enough to have my performances televised and/or perform on TV four times.

All four times have involved at least some level of stress or confusion!

The first time, I was performing in a Turkish Romany concert. It was before I felt prepared to perform Turkish Romany dance, and it was my first gig after moving to Istanbul.

The second time, I appeared on Mehmet Ali Erbil's show, and I almost missed ...

I slept in this morning after a late night out with party animal Sema Yıldız. A busy dancer in Turkey, Europe, and throughout the Middle East in the 70s, 80s, and into the 90s, Sema is retired from regular performances and now teaches workshops in Europe, Asia, and North America. Still, to see her flirt and party on a Saturday night, you’d think she was 22 years old. . . .

She invited me to a late dinner at Gar Gazino, where I had the privilege of watching Gül Nihal and ...

I have been performing in Turkey since January. It's been full of ups and downs. After three months of performing every night in Bodrum, then returning to Istanbul for the last two weeks of the Holy Month of Ramazan, during which there is nearly no work for dancers, I am looking forward to breaking the "performance fast" tonight in Cihangir. I will be performing tonight, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. On Sunday, I've got the night off, then Monday, a show on a Bosphorus cruise. ...