Ziya Azazi

Choreographer / Dancer / Cert. Engineer

Ziya Azazi was born in 1969 in Antakya, Turkey.

In 1986 he moved to Istanbul where he graduated as a certified mining engineer. between 1989 and 1992 he taught himself auto didactically gymnastics. from 1990 till 1994 he had an engagement in the “State Theatre of Istanbul” and made there his first choreographic works.

Since 1994 he has been in vienna. there he continued his work in contemporary dance and gymnastics and participated in many different festivals and viennese dance groups. in 1999 he won the dance scholarship of the “Summer Dance Week Vienna (danceweb)”, including an honourable mention from the european jury as “the most outstanding dancer of the year for Austria”. he received this prize after a performance of his full evening solo "unterwegs tabula rasa".

2000-2002 Ziya Azazi had engagements in the “Vienna Volksoper (A)”, the “Theaterhaus Stuttgart (D)” and the “Grand Théatre de Genéve (CH)”. 2004 he worked with Jan Fabré – Trobleyn (B) and 2005 - 2007 he participated in compagnie’s thor piece d’orient (B). he has worked with (including others) Cem Ertekin, Aydin Teker, Sebastian Prantl, Philippe Arlaud, Anne-marie Gros, Ismael Ivo, Marcia Haydée, Yoshi Oida and Thierry Smits.

Since 1999 he is studying the traditional dance of the sufis (dervish whirlers) and has choreographed many interpretations on this theme as seen in his solos “work in progress I & II". as a traditional dervish whirler he has performed with mercan dede, sertap erener and sabri tuluğ tırpan. his two solos “Dervish in Progress” and “’Azab” (which premiered in 2005 in brazil) were integrated into the full-length performance called “Dervish” and are being performed world wide.

Some of the festivals he has participated in are: Polyzentral/Hamburg, Liteside/Amsterdam, Teatro Europeo/Torino, Dies de Danza 2006/Barcelona-Sitges, Sziget/Budapest, Trafalgar Square/London, Images of the Middle East/Copenhagen, Danse en Ville/Brussels-Luxembourg, I-Dans Solists/Istanbul, Les Eclats Choreographiques/Niort, Fadjr International Theatre/Tehran, III Festival de Solos y Duetos en Venezuela.

Ziya Azazi also had appearances in the following special locations/events: national museum of Singapore, National Library/London, St. Irene Church/Istanbul, Altin Portakal Film Festivali/Antalya.

Ziya Azazi Choreographies:

"Dervish"

"Icons"

Ziya Azazi's Master Class Workshop:

Whirling With/Through Improv