The Izmir State Turkic World Dance and Music Ensemble promotes the rich cultural heritage of the Turkic world by performing music and dances from various regions.
Founded in 2008 under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the ensemble brings to life the authentic melodies and dances of the Turkic world.
The ensemble's repertoire includes dances and music from countries such as Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), as well as works from regions with Turkic populations, including Tatarstan, Kirkuk, Crimea, Gagauzia, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Yakutia.
With a 25-member orchestra, the ensemble enriches its performances by combining traditional instruments from across the Turkic world, such as the dutar, balaban, dombra, kopuz, shaman drum and shan kopuz, with classical Anatolian instruments, offering audiences an authentic musical experience.
The dancers, dressed in traditional Turkic costumes that reflect the cultural identity of each region, present a visual feast for the audience. These costumes, which highlight the traditional textures and colors of different parts of the Turkic world, further enhance the impact of the dances.
The ensemble's artistic director, Şavk Eryürek, shared with an Anadolu Agency (AA) reporter that the ensemble was founded with the goal of showcasing the music and dances of Turkic-heritage countries and regions both domestically and internationally.
Eryürek explained that they arrange and present authentic works collected from a wide geographical area by adapting them for the orchestra. "For us, it is of great importance that the works are traditional and authentic. This is our primary criterion when selecting pieces. We arrange traditional works according to our large orchestra, which includes both instruments unique to the Turkic world and traditional instruments from Anatolia and perform them," he said.
Eryürek expressed great joy in contributing to the promotion of Turkic culture, stating that he could not think of a more powerful tool than art for introducing this cultural richness to the world. He added: "We aim to bring themes from Anatolian soil to the Turkic world and world stages through large projects. The promotion of these works in regions such as Europe, America and Australia is very valuable in demonstrating the richness of Turkic culture."
Eryürek also pointed out the lack of a repertoire for the Turkic world in Türkiye, saying: "Our biggest challenge is the absence of a written repertoire archive for the Turkic world in Türkiye. We listen to the pieces from source individuals, transcribe them into notation, adapt them for our orchestra and present them to art lovers with new arrangements. Therefore, our goal is to leave this repertoire archive as a body of work for future generations."
The ensemble's repertoire includes performances such as the "Kırk Cigit" war dance from Kyrgyzstan's "Kurmanbek" epic, a performance with the shaman drum in the Tuvan folk melody "Enesayım," the sword-and-shield dance between Ruşen Ali and the Bey of Bolu from the "Köroğlu" epic and the Azerbaijani folk dance "Reksi Ağ Çiçek."
