WDBDHMDHMNM*
*What is dance? Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me, no more...
"What is dance? Is it having fun and jumping around with friends in a nightclub with the effects of alcohol, or the perfect fouette of a ballerina? Is it an expressionist improvisation of a modern dancer, or a string of energetic movements that increase the entertainment dose of the commercial films and social media contents ? B-boys fighting each other, or a baby shaking their ass when the music plays? Is it a requirement of being an influencer or a profession where you try to pay the rent of your house? Is this business a daydreaming or just a hobby? Are dancers rentable beings of flesh and bone? Does it work for hours without rest and bounce 100 times as requested? Will they get sick, injured or work forever? Do dancers get hungry?
WDBDHMDHMNM, produced in 2016 at a time when news of explosions came from all over the city, is a contemporary dance performance designed in the structure of a play, consisting of different stages, by approaching all these questions in an ironic way.
Can you guess the winner of the night in the performance where the dancers will sweat hard to be the “winner”?"
Concept & Choreography: Ekin Tunçeli
Creative dancers: 2016 crew; Ekin Ançel, Tamer Aksu, Hür Diren Bankoğlu, Mizgin Bozkaya, Rüçhan Eylül Ercan, Su Guzey, Metehan Kayan, Sude Meriç Kolozina, Seray İçmez, Aybike İpekçi, İlayda İpekçi, Tuğçe Göncü, Göker Yıldız ,2022 crew; Büşra Albayrak, Ekin Ançel, Senay Arslan, Selim Cizdan, Ece Çamlı, Sude İnce, Güray Doğru, Nazlı Durak, Muhammed Ali Dönmez, Rüçhan Eylül Ercan, Ufuk Fakıoğlu, İlayda İpekçi, Ekin Önce, Sefa Özen, Gizem Seçkin, Nazlı Tecimer, Köksal Ünal, Diren Ezgi Yıldızkan
Asistan: Zilan Kuruoğlu
Costume: Ekin Tunçeli
Video: Ekin Tunçeli
Duration: 50''
Performed in:
- 3. Visibility in Art Festival İstanbul (2016)
- 1. Visibility in Art Festival İzmir (2016)
- Young Choreographers 06 İstanbul (2016)
- METU Contemporary Dance Festival Ankara (2017)
-İmproDanceFestival İstanbul (2022)
-Fringe İstanbul (2022)
-Performed monthly in 2022 Spring season in BeReZe Gösteri Evi
Photos: İlkin Eskipehlivan
Special thanks to Çıplak Ayaklar Kumpanyası & BeReZe Gösteri Evi, Ege Erdal, Keyhan Khasmakhi
WDBDHMDHMNM in press
- On Soruluk Sohbetler - Ekin Tunçeli // Ayşe Draz & Mehmet Kerem Özel
- What is Dance?* // Bihter Çetinyol
- https://tiyatrolar.com.tr/tiyatro/what-is-dance-baby-dont-hurt-me-dont-hurt-me-no-more
- Çıplak Ayaklarla Dans - Spotify Podcast
- WDBDHMDHMNM instagram account
WDBDHMDHMNM is a competitive game based contemporary performance with 8 round for 9 dancers, created which based on some physical child games. Every round, one different dancer is eliminated and in the end, one dancer becomes the winner and it is not fixed who will be the looser of the rounds. The audience try to guess the winner and they also get a surprise if they would be able to guess.