Filiz Sızanlı & Mustafa Kaplan, Sofia Dias & Vítor Roriz

Open Studios are informal showings, open rehearsals, or conversations with artists who are creating new work. This year, two projects that will premiere at the Alkantara Festival in 2022 invite audiences into the rehearsal studio. Quartet is one such project.

Quartet is a collaboration project between two duos of choreographers, Filiz Sızanlı & Mustafa Kaplan (Turkey) and Sofia Dias & Vítor Roriz (Portugal).

Although their creative approaches and experiences are different, these two duos have the same fascination for precision, minimalism, language, abstraction and a growing interest in the interactions between spoken word, voice, movement and gesture.

The creative process of this piece is based on mutual trust in sharing the intimate mechanisms that are associated with the doing-thinking of each duo. In confronting the other, it becomes possible to articulate and name features that seemed imperceptible. The mirror effect that stands out from this quartet configuration, where each duo sees itself reflected in the other, made it clear that one of the compelling concepts of this project would be the DOUBLE in its artistic, social and literary meanings.

It is mandatory to wear a mask inside Espaço Alkantara before, during and after the performances.

About the artists

Filiz Sızanlı is a graduate of Istanbul Technical University’s Department of Architecture and holds a Master’s degree in Contemporary Dance from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. In 2000, she co-founded Çatı Contemporary Dance Artists Association with other artists. Between 2001 and 2005, she worked with Mathilde Monnier at the Centre Chorégraphique National de Montpellier, while also collaborating with Emmanuelle Hyunh, Mustafa Kaplan, Yann Marussich, and Julie Nioche. In 2002, she founded Taldans Company with Mustafa Kaplan. She has taught at Eskişehir Anadolu University, Eskişehir City Theater, and Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. https://taldans.com/

Mustafa Kaplan was born in Konya, Turkey. He studied Telecommunication and Electrical Engineering at Yıldız Technical University in Istanbul, though he has never worked as an engineer. He studied dance with Geyvan McMillan and theatre with Bulunmaz Theatre Company. After dancing in the Modern Ballet Company between 1989 and 1992, he worked at the Theatre Research Laboratory at the Municipal Theatre of Istanbul as a choreographer and dancer for about ten years. He is a cofounder of Yeşil Üzümler Dance Company, Dans Fabrikası, Taldans Company, and Çatı Association. He has directed Taldans Company with Filiz Sızanlı since 2002. Kaplan has participated in many theater and dance festivals in Turkey and abroad with his productions. He currently teaches dance and movement at ÇATI Contemporary Dance Artists Association, Mimar Sinan University, and Istanbul Okan University. https://taldans.com/

Sofia Dias & Vítor Roriz are a duo of independent dancers and choreographers. They began collaborating in 2006 on the research and creation of performances that have since been presented in over 17 countries. Words, voice, sound, and objects are the focus of their research. In 2011, they were awarded the Prix Jardin d'Europe and given the first place of Aerowaves Spring Forward 13 for their performance A gesture that is nothing but a threat. Their collaboration has been supported by Bomba Suicida (2009-2016), O Espaço do Tempo (2009-2016), and Materiais Diversos (2012-2016). They have also received support from various European Networks such as Looping, TRANSFER, Open Latitudes, Modul Dance, ONDA, and Départs. They have been invited to collaborate with different artists such as Catarina Dias, visual artist and longtime collaborator, Lara Torres, Marco Martins, Clara Andermatt, Mark Tompkins. Since 2014, they have performed in Tiago Rodrigues’s Antony and Cleopatra and Sopro (2017). They regularly teach workshops and classes and organise residencies for artists in different contexts. They curated PACAP – Advanced program of Creation in Performing Arts (2018/2019). In 2019 they were commissioned to create a new piece for Companhia Maior, and in 2020 they created Infiltração, a project at Teatro do Bairro Alto. S&V are associated members of REDE – Associação de Estruturas para a Dança Contemporânea. https://www.sofiadiasvitorroriz.com/