Kybele Dance Theater - Simyacı (Alchemist)

Simaycı is Turkish for ‘alchemist’: one who magically transmutes lead into gold. Kybele Dance Theater (KDT) taps into the hidden treasures each one of us holds. Inspiring the audience by breaking the fourth wall through interaction and guidance, KDT reconnects them to their inner artist. Societal norms have made us self-conscious, holding back our creativity and weighing us down like lead. KDT will free our inner artist, turning that into gold and letting us shine for a night where all could express without shame, fear, shyness, or judgement.

True immersive performance is one that the audience is physically integrated and part of the choreography and not just observing from different points of view in and around the performers. In Simyacı, the audience also performs choreography for a truly immersive and inclusive experience as dancers nonverbally direct the audience how and when to be involved.

Founded in 2003 by Artistic Director and Choreographer 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. 

www.kybeledance.com

Quotes from Simiyacı at Highways in 2023:

"It is an understatement to say that this presentation stretched and expanded my understanding of dance and its presentation. The breath and range of passionate movement were both mind blowing and awe-inspiring. Not only did I get to enjoy the expertise of great professional dancers, but I appreciated being engaged from beginning to end as I observed the audience participation as well as being afforded the opportunity to step into the "meta verse" of the piece myself.” -- Mervyn McCurchin

"Simyacı/Alchemist was a dance experience unlike any other. The dancers' unmatched focus, fluidity, and force captivated me as an audience member. Further, the transcendent experience of determining the art through my own participation was magical. I walked into Alchemist knowing not a single soul in the room. Then without words, I felt a deeper sense of care and love for the community we had made in this small but magical show.” -- Dillon Zamora

"It's almost to me like you're dancing in your higher self. To me, it changes the whole energy of the room. It brings good energy, and it encourages me. In other words, y’all were making me happy, and it gives me the courage to take that energy out into the world and help others. And dancing like that is helping to make the world a better place. It's bringing heaven on earth. Seeing y’all move like that, it's telling me nothing is impossible. Nothing.” -- Alfred McCurchin

“Seda Aybay’s Simyacı/Alchemist Powerfully Brought Company and Audience Together” -– Jeff Slayton