Grace and discipline since 2000.
3.5 I began my training at Turkey's first private ballet school, Özel Yıldız Alpar Bale Okulu, at the age of 3.5. From a very young age, ballet became the centre of my life. I studied for a full 16 years under my teacher, Mrs. Yıldız Alpar, whose disciplined and exacting training shaped everything that followed. During those years I had the privilege of learning from some of the most celebrated names of the Turkish State Ballet.
At the age of six, I performed alongside artists of the Ankara State Opera and Ballet in the Deli Dumrul ballet as a child dancer. During my training I sat for the Royal Academy of Dance examinations and earned my certificates; over the years I attended workshops across Europe, observing classical repertoire and contemporary technique side by side.
In 1997, I founded the very first ballet classes in Çanakkale. In 2000, together with my beloved mother as co-founder, we opened the city's first MEB-accredited ballet school. Since that day I have worked with hundreds of students and graduated dozens. Many of my former students now teach ballet in Çanakkale with the training and diplomas they received from us — and that, perhaps, is what I am most proud of.
We have taken part in countless festivals at home and abroad, won awards, and done our best to represent our country, our city, and our school. My belief has always been that the only true competition is with ourselves. Every day I keep working hard to find what is better, what is right for our students — because learning never ends.
To teach my students what is best, true and most refined — and to contribute to their becoming good people — is my greatest mission. I have been teaching ballet for nearly 30 years; ballet has been at the heart of my life for 48.
Ece Öğretmen has been teaching ballet in Çanakkale for 30 years…
At the Prague International Dance Festival, representing Turkey, we won six awards across our participations.
Since 2001 we have staged a recital every year — each one in collaboration with Turkish State Opera & Ballet artists, guest choreographers and international visitors.
Over the years, artists from State Opera and Ballet companies across Turkey have been guests of our studio and our stage. Each of their contributions is a cornerstone of the art we pass on to our students.
My teacher, my elder sister from the same school, and a colleague who has supported me enormously. She has stood by us for 26 years — a guest at four of our recitals.
Another colleague who graduated from the same ballet school. She joined us as a guest at our 2003 recital here in Çanakkale.
She joined our 2006 recital as a guest. She runs her own ballet school in Osnabrück — one of the starting points of the European connection we have maintained over the years.
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