Experiences on Anatolia Orff Project in Turkey

You are a person to whom I may say ‘my teacher’

I’m Ezgi Tatar, from İzmir, Turkey. After my graduation in music education at the Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey, I completed the three Level Courses of the Turkish Orff Association in 2015 and in 2016. Then I concluded a professional development course for teaching teachers, also in Turkey. Afterwards, I participated in the 2016-2017 Special Course: “Advanced Studies in Music and Dance Education – Orff-Schulwerk” at the Mozarteum University/ Orff Institute, Salzburg. Since then, I have been giving seminars in Turkey for the Anatolia Orff Project led by Güher & Süher Pekinel - Anatolia Orff-Schulwerk Elemental Music and Dance Project - in cooperation with the Turkish Orff Association. Within the frame of this project I travel throughout Turkey giving seminars for teachers who are teaching in government schools.

When I finished the Special Course Program, I was feeling full, having had so many experiences: dance technique classes, music and percussion classes, improvisation classes and so on… Here, back in Turkey I was feeling different then before and ready to teach adults from different regions of my country. But to be honest, I was a little worried about going to the eastern parts of Turkey and teaching in Van or Erzurum, cities to which I had never been before. Now, I see that this is also a different experience for me to teach in different conditions in the different regions of Turkey.

Before the project began, as I though about my planning, I decided to start with easy-going ideas, like walking and I also found materials belonging to Turkish melodies. Because my working focus is based on movement, the main question was for me how I could develop a process for my participants to move easily; why would they run in the room, for instance? Or why would they have to dance like a leaf? There had to be a reason which they could feel or see as an impulse. I tried to be precise in my planning – tried to be clear on each step. Then the time was there, on my doorstep, so to say, waiting for me to meet with my participants and begin my classes with them!

I remember that I was a little nervous when I got to school for my first teaching. The participants were late. I couldn’t even ask that why are they late; I didn’t trust myself to ask it. Now I find it quite funny! The seminar was happening in a city close to the Black Sea. People were quite open to try new things and they were moving freely. Was it so because there were no men in the group? I don’t know, but I was quite happy with the results of the course when the course ended. Afterwards, I traveled to different cities that belonged to different regions and cultures. I was amazed of the variety of Turkish culture even though I knew it before going there, but it’s so different to be there, to feel their life and specific cultural aspects. Also each region has completely different dance and music elements. In Anatolia, it is quite normal to hear 5/8, 9/8, 12/8… People dance in these meters and sing in Turkish musical forms. For instance, we have different sequences (like tones) and we call them makam. We have nine different koma between do – re for instance, which gives the song a different spirit, a soul. It was quite interesting to learn songs and dances that belong to them.

Despite these beauties which demonstrated the variety of Anatolia, sometimes I was not feeling connected with the group. In some of the cities, men didn’t want to participate. One of the reasons was they didn’t feel comfortable to move in a mixed group of women and men. In some of the cities, they didn’t even want to hold women’s hands! I respect what people believe and I was aware of these cultural elements but – when you faced with these facts you have to do something. Are you going to let them just to observe and not participate? Are they going to join in at one point? (Which they usually do) I didn’t know what would happen! Also, another point: I was trying to be aware of their needs, also trying to lead them to see how they could transfer what I was giving them to their students, but it took some time for me to face the fact that some exercises were so deep or so incredibly different then what they used to learning. For instance, it could be very interesting for me to learn an African folk song or a dance, but for some of them it wouldn’t be! When I was teaching in one of the cities, one man (who didn’t participate even on one of the four days!) asked me at the end of the seminar: “Why are you bringing here those western ideas here! We already have beautiful songs and dances in Turkey!” Well, my answer was that it is not important where does it come from or where does it belongs, the important thing is the idea itself, is it meaningful or helpful or not!

I thought about this question for a while, then one day when I was talking with one of my teachers, Christa Coogan. After telling her this story she told me: “Maybe he is right! Maybe you should start right away with their songs, their dances and what they know and what they trust! Then you could vary those elements into something new!” Well, this was a huge thing for me. Yes, they are the people who are living in this same society for such a long time. They are grown-ups, not children so I should not expect them to adapt to anything so new immediately. Additionally, most of them are attending this course knowing nothing about Orff-Schulwerk. There should be more hidden steps for them to go in a different direction, instead of jumping something completely new.

Now, because the Güher & Süher Pekinel Anatolia Orff Project will continue, I have notes for myself for my next course! I’ll try to learn about their cultural figures and motifs; I’m going to use materials from their culture more than I used before. Well, let’s cross the fingers! We will see what is going to happen!

I would like to end my writing with a memory that is still quite interesting for me. I was teaching in Van, (which is on the most extreme points of the East). One of the participants – a man - he was looking at me with a serious and frowning face during four days. He was participating actually, but I didn’t know why, I could see that these activities were too much for him! At the end of the course I asked the group to reflect about those four days: what were their expectations and did they find what they were looking for and so on. Some of them shared their opinions and feelings, then I said goodbye to the group, and started to prepare my bag to go. This man came closer to me, and said: “Teacher! I never dance in my life, even when I go to weddings! But here, when you said move on the floor, I did it! When you said dance with your partner, I did it! You are a person to whom I may say ‘my teacher’!” This story gives me a lot of motivation: if only for the reason that maybe one other person who belongs to a very different part of Turkey would feel the same way as this man did, I want to improve my teaching process to prepare a safe and beneficial environment for my participants!