Edinburgh festival: Istanbul Music and Sema Group

Edinburgh Playhouse

• Alice Bain
• The Guardian,
• Tuesday September 2 2008
• Article history

Closing the Edinburgh International festival dance programme, this concert of Turkish classical and Sufi music climaxes with a still sacred religious ceremony little changed since its conception in the 15th century.

There is essentially only one repeated movement to review – the whirling. And this spinning is performed, rather surprisingly given the dance billing, for only a short period in the second half. Pre-interval, the group concentrates on ancient music performed on delicately beautiful traditional instruments and five deeply male voices. There are readings from religious texts too. Delivered in English, they are sincere but add little.

So, the slow build-up to the whirling lasts nearly two thirds of the evening. The rhythms are soporific and mystical, the words sung low and sonorous, the verses many and repetitive. Hypnosis seems the aim. Much of the six-part Sema ceremony consists of walking in circles, gesturing and bowing with respect. Meanwhile, a moth dances in the lights above.

When the dervishes finally treat us to the main attraction, their billowing white full-length skirts (the ego’s shroud) are freed from black cloaks (the grave) and transcendence is gentle and without extravagance. One hand turned to the sky and God, and the other to earth, their tall fez-like hats (the ego’s tombstone) tilt to one side in unison. It is as simple as that. A beautiful, poetic, meditative gesture. The only concession to performance are pink, blue and orange spotlights catching each turn.

[Edinburgh festival dance review: Istanbul Music and Sema Group, Edinburgh Playhouse – This article appeared in the Guardian on Tuesday September 02 2008 on p36 of the Features & reviews section. It was last updated at 00:57 on September 02 2008]

Source: www.guardian.co.uk, September 2 2008