The 29th Istanbul Theatre Festival kicked off with the Cathedral

The Istanbul Theater Festival, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts for 29 years, opened its curtains at Zorlu PSM on October 20th with a performance by the Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, a Dutch dance company celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, titled "Cathedral, An Evening with Arvo Part," by renowned Spanish choreographer Marcos Morau. It continues tonight and on October 23rd at 8:30 PM on the Turkcell Platinum Stage at Zorlu PSM with a performance by the French-Catalan group Baro d'evel, "Who Are We?"

The Scapino Ballet Rotterdam troupe , which performed "Cathedral" and also performed a dance workshop on two consecutive evenings at the Zorlu PSM Turkcell Stage, captivated audiences of dancers and dance enthusiasts. Twelve dancers , who moved their bodies like instruments with high technique and skill, provided a striking example of how music and dance can be integrated into contemporary choreography , utilizing unconventional lighting and stage design .

Before the cathedral , the Turkish Down Syndrome Association Dance Group welcomed the audience to the Zorlu PSM Amphitheatre with a show by TDSD Dance +1 by Hilton Bomonti , which invited the audience to a world without prejudice, consisting of individuals with Down syndrome .

Teatro La Plaza, meanwhile, not only broadened the horizons of dancers with Down syndrome in Turkey with its performance on October 21st , but will also challenge festival audiences' prejudices with three performances of Hamlet at the Harbiye Muhsin Ertuğrul Stage on October 24-25 . Eight actors with Down syndrome will bring Hamlet to the stage with an unconventional interpretation of Shakespeare's classic text. In this powerful staging by the Teatro La Plaza company, based not on empathy but on equality, the actors interweave their own lives with Hamlet's universe .