The Department of Acting at Arkin University of Creative Arts and Design (ARUCAD) hosted choreographer, dancer, and educator Gizem Aksu as part of the Sharing Experiences course. The webinar, held on Thursday, 27 November 2025, focused on Aksu’s work titled “A 9/8 Fight for All of Us,” exploring the relationship between rhythm, bodily expression, and thought. Throughout the session, discussions addressed how timing, movement, and the body’s responses shape performance practice.
Speaking during the webinar, Aksu emphasized that she approaches dance not merely as a profession, but as a way of living, highlighting the central role of the body in artistic production. Reflecting on her creative process, she noted that dance can extend beyond a single form and engage with different mediums such as film, performance, text, and installation, stating that dance is a living and evolving process that opens into multiple modes of creation. Drawing attention to the role of embodied experience in generating ideas, Aksu underlined the importance of developing responses rooted in the present moment rather than relying on habitual reactions, particularly within improvisational practices. She elaborated on this approach through the distinction between “receiving,” “responding,” and “reacting,” noting that bodily awareness deepens and enriches creative work.
The webinar also addressed the increasingly porous boundaries between acting and dance as disciplines and continued with students’ questions on the film, the production process, and performance practice, concluding with a Q&A session. Those who wish to rewatch the webinar may access it via the link below:
