Ronnie Raul catches up with Cihat Can and Gizem. The dynamic dancing couple successfully won
The 'UK WORLD OPEN SALSA CHAMPIONSHIP 2008'
in London last July.

¿Que Pasa?.- When did you and Gizem start to learn about Salsa and where?

Cihat Can: I have been dancing for 18 years and have been doing salsa for 10 years. There was nobody to teach me salsa at the beginning because I was in the first group of people who do salsa, in Turkey. Training videos and internet images were very useful for me because of my dance background was strong.

Gizem: I have been dancing for 11 years and have been doing salsa for 8 years.

¿Que Pasa?.- Did either of you have ballet, ballroom or Latin dance training before you began dancing salsa?

Cihat Can: I had education on all stage dances, especially ballet and jazz dance so my adaptation period of salsa was very easy, thanks to these my old dance educations.

Gizem: There was any dance which I do professionally before salsa. But, I was doing dances like cha cha cha, rumba, tango and jive as an amateur.

¿Que Pasa?.- Give us a brief history of both of you dance background.

Cihat Can: I began my art life with artistic gymnastic in 1990 and continued with popular hip hop, Break Dance and Disco dances. I was chosen “Technical Planet Dancer” at the Planet Dance World Finals. I won a scholarship because of this success. I have been had education from Russian educators for 3 years on technic and choreography at all type of stage dances. I have worked with lots of dance expert in Turkey and in the World during my professional dance life which started in 1997. I have made lots of choreographies to artists, models, amateur and professional dancers. I have worked in lots of advertisement films, clips, documentaries, musicals, promotions and organizations. I got worldwide degrees at Latino Show, Salsa, Swing, Argentine Tango, and Disco Fox competition in 2004, 2005 and 2006. I have been working as a dance trainer since 1999. Also, I am official trainer of Turkish Dance Sports Federations and Dance referee. Additionally, I am working as Technical Committee President of Social Latin Dances / Turkish Dance Sports Federations.

Gizem: At the junior high school years, I saw an advertisement and decided to take dance lessons. I have started to take lessons in 1998. I have started to assistantship after this 2 year. In 2000, I met with Salsa and I have taken lessons from trainers in abroad. In 2003, I was chosen 1. at salsa and salsa show categories. So I have taken part in lots of TV shows and clips. I attended international tournaments in Germany and Switzerland and got various degrees. First time I attended UK salsa Congress in 2005 and got on the stage with Salsa de Locas. I have been partner of Cihat Can since 2008, January.

¿Que Pasa?.- How did you meet each other?

Cihat Can: My previous partner had a break the dance in 2006, I have looked for a partner seriously. I had been worked by Russian discipline many years and I have known that that was very hard to find a partner who is very disciplined, works seriously and make concessions from her private life. I have known Gizem from dance society for 8 years. We have been dancing in salsa nights and we have attended lots of tournaments with different partners. She had specialities which I wanted so I knew that Gizem was the partner which I looked for.

¿Que Pasa?.- Describe the subsequent route to your brilliant achievements together?

Cihat Can: Actually it is a classic answer but the answer is to be disciplined, working systematically and loving partner and appreciate her precious?

¿Que Pasa?.- Who were your teachers and how much influence did they have on your dance career?

Cihat Can: The most effective person at my road to the professionalty, is Government Opera and Ballet ex premiere: Alev Baymur who had given me scholarship at her school for 3 years. And, in these 3 years, I owe gratefulness to my ex trainers: Yuri Mezoph, Nina Abramova and Sasha Borzenko. I have learnt from them except dancing: Discipline, working and not be daunted.

Gizem: Aytunç Bentürk was my trainer and the person who I imitate on the road to the professionallity. Except him, I attended congresses and watched training CD’s so I have learned lots of foreign trainers’ style and finally I tried to creating my style. Now, I am still fixing my style’s missing parts with my partner’s advises.

¿Que Pasa?.- How would you describe your dance style today and what is it that made you choose to concentrate on this particular type of dance

Cihat Can: I have a style and my characteristics of my style are: Self confident, cold-blooded, dissimulate when made fault, feeling the music on soul and share these feelings with partner. In fact, the most effective reason is my trainer’s style when dancing. Because you will dance how your trainer dances.
GS: I like to mirror entertainment and erotism in my dance. I have a free soul and I like to mirror it.

¿Que Pasa?.- Are your dances choreographed by both of you or someone else?

Cihat Can: We made the choreography with Gizem and it took us a long term. Details and cleaning took us two months. We put the hardest and most risky moves to choreography because we were focus on the World Championship. But that must be recognized, figures must be done clearly and that is more important than hardness in a choreography

¿Que Pasa?.- Do you have any particular favorite moves or complex moves that you always include in your performances?

Cihat Can: We care about putting popular and risky figures in the choreography while preparing the choreography. But, we always use figures which we discovered and identified with us. One of them are: The snake figure by Gizem, man’s landing to the ground by opening legs from double spin, women’s getting her head back by 90 degree while turning. ¿Que Pasa?.- For competitions is it important to you to include different creative and complicated moves each time and do you have moves in your repertoire that are unique to you? Cihat Can: Doing dissimilar and creative moves are very important. Because preferability and staying permanent are derived from dissimilarity. We never choose imitation. Because we have extremely ability potential and background to find dissimilar and creative figures.

I advise dancers to work with a professional choreograph if they can not find dissimilar and creative figures. That makes you better and provides being successful.

¿Que Pasa?.- How long does it take to learn a whole routine?

Cihat Can: Routines do not take us so long time because we do that. Doing risky figures cleanly take us a whole time. And we can not find nobody to ask them some figures so discovering their technics take us a very long time.

¿Que Pasa?.- Do you include parts of your routines when you teach salsa at your classes?

Cihat Can: We teach all of our figures to our students, absolutely. Because, if they can display these figures and get laudatory words, that is our success. People’s positive words to our students like “what a great move”, “you are great dancing” etc. make happy us. Also, seeing our students getting return their money, is very restful for us. The best advertisement for us, is getting “our names” answer when our students asked who are their trainers.

¿Que Pasa?.- Who chooses your dance music and do you have favourites?

Cihat Can: We have chosen our music in a few audio tracks with Gizem. We care about choosing exhilarated tracks at show tracks. But at dance tracks, I always prefer slow or medium rhythm tracks. About the best show tracks, Tito Puente is my absolute favourite.

¿Que Pasa?.- Could you tell us about the Salsa scene in Turkey?

Cihat Can: There is a big dance potential in Turkey. We embrace warmth of latin dances and adapt the rhythms easily. Salsa dance has a history of just 10 years in Turkey but growing quickly. Now, Istanbul which is capital of salsa in Turkey, has 20 school and 5-6 of them are on world standards. There are at least 2 salsa night in a week. We have lots of good dancers and trainers. Especially, in last 5 years, we have arranged lots of salsa organizations and we entertained lots of well-known dancer and trainer in our country. Salsa dance is being done in elit places with people who have higher culture and income status. Also, approximately 100 double attends our salsa tournaments 4 times in a year.

¿Que Pasa?.- Have both of you ever performed outside your country?

Cihat Can: UK World Open Salsa Championship was our first performance in abroad. But we had lots of performance with different partners.

¿Que Pasa?.- Do you have any interesting stories that you can reveal to our salsa readers about on the dance circuit that have influenced you?

Cihat Can: Generally, in my opinion, the most affecting thing in dance is that, lots of people meets with each other by dance and get married. We are doing World’s most beautiful social activity. There is no other activity which you can live touching and sharing so much.

Gizem: When I watch people dancing, in my opinion, the most affecting thing in dance is happiness mimics in all of their faces. There is no other hobby which can not make happy and get together these people. So, dance can combine different lifes. Nice friendships, brotherhoods and marriage can be seen.

¿Que Pasa?.- What are your next immediate goals and why?

Cihat Can: To join one of the World Championship in U.S.A. and show a performance there. There are lots of very good dancer in USA so that we can dance together and breathe in same atmosphere and that would be a joy for us. Also, it can be helpful for us to develop ourselves.

¿Que Pasa?.- What are your ambitions for the future?

Cihat Can: To arrange big organizations which brings World salsa society to Turkey and becoming more well-known by getting good degrees in the tournaments and the organizations organized by us. Also, we want to make Istanbul as one of the capital cities of salsa.

© Interview by Ronnie Raul
28 July 2008