Monday in the Sun, Bedirhan Dehmen & Safak Uysal, Turkey

Monday in the sun

Monday in the Sun puts the subject of friendship between men under close scrutiny. Two friends travel on a boat trip between the two sides of the Bosphorus, sharing a history and a reality. It is a contemporary dance performance about men, maleness and the sea.

Monday in the sun

The two dancers deal with male friendship. They share intense moments, argue, wait, discuss, leave each other and find each other again, inspired by the short journey on a boat between the two banks of the Bosphorus in Istanbul. The two dancers will take the audience along with them in the different spaces of the venue, through the various emotions of their relationship. Contemporary dance at its best.
On the North SEAS Tour, choreographer Uysal will develop a radical re-invention of the piece, working with two new dancers,Canberk Yıldız og Burak Yamantürk, and sound designer Dogus Bitecik, exploring narrative, space and movement.

Choreography and concept: Bedirhan Dehmen, Safak Uysal
Sound and Video: Dogus Bitecik
Co-producers: garajistanbulpro and [laboratuar]
Duration: 50 minutes

Comissioned by Black/North SEAS

Safak Uysal
Safak Uysal was born in 1978, in Bodrum, Turkey. He graduated from METU Dept. of City and Regional Planning in 1999, completed his Masters degree with a focus on body-space relationship at Bilkent University in 2001, and finalised his doctorate studies with a focus on the relationship between architecture and experience at the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture in 2009. Having taken interest in dance in 1995, he worked with METU Contemporary Dance Group for the following seven years, during which he created numerous individual and group choreographies, while also assuming positions that extended from general coordination to graphic design as part of METU Int. He has taken part in numerous projects alongside his own, and is a member of [laboratuar].
[laboratuar] officially began working under the name in 2003, but the group members have been working together for a longer time period, the earliest collaborations reaching as far back as 1997. Most of the current eighteen members (four abroad) were members of the Middle East Technical University (METU) Contemporary Dance Group, also having taken part in the organisation of METU International Contemporary Dance Festival (celebrating its 11th year in March 2009). Besides this, [laboratuar] is primarily a network-based collective that co-operates with a large number of individuals and groups on a project-basis.