Asena

Asena — Biography

Asena is a dancer, choreographer and singer who helped bring oriental dance to the center of Turkish television and the private-event circuit. She is known for reinterpreting the traditional dance with a contemporary stage language and for taking it to audiences abroad. More recently she left Istanbul to take up farm life in Yalova.

As a baby she moved to Germany with her grandmother, studied ballet there for three years and came back to Turkey at 15. She graduated from the Tourism and Hotel Management Department of Marmara University and then studied hotel management at Bilgi University. She first appeared on stage in 1995 on a program led by Mustafa Topaloğlu, paused to finish her education and returned in 1999. In the years that followed she stood out for shows in which she designed her own costumes and had her music made to order, and she danced at private events attended by figures such as Bill Clinton, Tina Turner, Mick Jagger, Mel Gibson and Elizabeth Taylor. She is also remembered for her work on rhythm and the darbuka, and for the concert Bach à L'Orientale, prepared together with the pianist Anjelika Akbar.

On the musical side she released albums including Asena Oyun Havaları (2001), Hint Kumaşı (2010) and Çatır Çatır (2011). On television she served as a judge on Benimle Dans Eder Misin? and took part in the competitions Buzda Dans, Survivor, Benzemez Kimse Sana and Ben Burdan Atlarım. Until 2009 she was vice president for oriental dance at the Turkish Dance Sports Federation, and she holds a kickboxing license.