Kybele Dance Theater at Theatre Raymond Kabbaz

"Seda Aybays work is rich with movement, purpose and thought-provoking images". - Jeff Slayton, LA Dance ChronicleKybele Dance Theater (KDT) inspires all those who are willing to embark on a narrative journey infused with poetic abstraction and candid emotion.It is dedicated to using contemporary dance to build bridges between cultures and genders. Turkish-born Seda Aybay draws upon her Turkish heritage to create innovative works that showcase the power of storytelling and stretch the boundaries of modern dance.Founded in 2003 by Seda Aybay, Kybele Dance Theater (KDT) seeks to cultivate an experience that infuses theatrical and contemporary dance with Turkish socio-cultural narratives and imagery. Drawing from a diverse tapestry of experience, Aybay uses her unique multicultural approach to craft gestural movement, syncopated rhythms, and lush curves into repertoire that abstracts and amplifies the forgotten moments of everyday life; the mundane becomes powerful, seductive, and profound. Through a sophisticated lense, KDT fosters an ever evolving vocabulary including evening length programs, mixed repertory work, educational performances, and festivals. PROGRAM"DediKodu explores shedding the burden of cultural expectations and judgements in favor of celebrating personal choices over societal scrutiny. The title comes from the Turkish word for gossip. However it has been visually separated into dedi meaning said and kodu meaning set as a play-on-words used to illustrate how we often succumb to what is said about us, falling into the prescribed version or ourselves, a version others foist upon us."Noir" is inspired by the dark themes of 1940s cinema and its anti-heroine, the femme fatale, who uses her femininity to lure men down a destructive and dangerous path. Historically born from a time when soldiers came home from fighting in World War II to find women more independent, therefore challenging gender roles of that time. NOIR depicts the ongoing battle of a womans desires to shake societys scrutiny which deems her subversive, provocative and thus, a villainess femme fatale.Yol is a short dance film choreographed, danced, and edited by Seda Aybay with cinematography by Carl Owens.