Mission, History & the Company

The internationally acclaimed Collage is one of Boston’s advocates for multicultural collective expression. Exemplifying  their mission to promote harmony between people from different cultural and social  backgrounds, Ahmet Lüleci integrates Eastern European traditional performance with modern Western techniques.

Collage grew out of Ahmet Luleci's goal of making folk dance and music more accessible and interesting to a general audience. The company presents a range of pieces, from traditional choreographies to more modern interpretations that remain true to the spirit of the dance. Using music that makes people want to jump out of their seats and join the dance, the company showcases the beauty, energy and passion of these neglected dance forms as well as the cultural heritage they represent.

Ahmet made important progress in this goal with Eastern Tides, a piece created for the most recent Boston Moves event, commissioned by Dance Umbrella. His recent works, Balkan Blues, Passing, Duality, Identity, Anatolia and Rituals continues this choreographic direction.When he moved to Boston in the late 1980s, Ahmet founded Turkish traditional dance group called Kemence. As the company became more experienced and more professional, he brought in non-turkish material and ultimately changed the name to Collage Dance Ensemble. Today Collage features 20 + dancers, performing in the US, Canada, and Turkey.

 

 

Awards / Grants / Commissions

Crash Arts', Dance Straight up  2006

Crash Arts', Ten's the limit  2005

DRP, Crossing  2005

Crash Arts', Dance Straight up  2004

Golden Karagöz Dance Competition, Bursa, Turkey 2003

Boston Cultural Arts Council grant 2002

Dance Umbrella, Boston Moves 2001

Boston Cultural Arts Council grant 2001

Boston Cultural Arts Council grant 2000

Event of the Year Award, Boston University, Boston, MA 1998

Event of the Year Award, Boston University, Boston, MA 1997

Ahmet Lüleci / Founder - Artistic Director
A native of Turkey, Ahmet is an accomplished choreographer, dance teacher and performer as well as a researcher of Anatolian culture. Collage allows him to further his goal of making folk dance and music accessible to a wider audience. Ahmet was presented with the 2002 Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts & Humanities by the Assembly of Turkish American Associations.

His choreography was awarded the gold medal at the Hong Kong Open dance competition in 2004 (performed by Budlet Dance Company) as well as the first prize at the ethnic dance competition in Germany in 2005 (performed by Elvan Dance Company).

Since arriving in North America in 1985, he has taught many workshops and camps throughout the United States as well as Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Holland, England, Switzerland, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Norway, Italy and Australia. He has set innumerable suites of dances for the stage working with dance organizations around the world. Some of the notable performing ensembles with whom he has worked include AMAN of Los Angeles, BYU dancers of Provo, BUDLET of Hong Kong, LES SORTILEGES of Montreal, and VINOK of Edmonton. In his native Turkey, he choreographed for HOYTUR, TURHOY and GEHEM of Ankara, ANADOLU UNIVERSITESI of Eskisehir, BUTFOD of Bursa and FOLKTUR of Istanbul. In 1991 Ahmet joined the Artistic Staff of AMAN as resident choreographer.

Prior to his departure for the US, Ahmet also served as Director of Dances for HOY-TUR, long considered Turkey's leading dance association. Since the age of eight he has danced with numerous school ensembles and private associations, many of which won outstanding awards in city-wide and National-International competitions. Between 1973 and 2003 he participated in International dance festivals & competitions throughout Europe and North America. In edition, him and his ensembles appeared in more than 60 programs broadcast nationally in countries such as Turkey, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, USA, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Taiwan and Germany.

His college major was music, Ahmet's fascination with dance led him to conduct scholarly research into the historical, social and cultural background of the costumes and spoon dances from Turkey's Mediterranean coast. His efforts resulted in an exhaustive, 400 page study for which he was awarded First Place in the 1985 national competition in research on the folkdances of Turkey by the Turkish ministry of Youth, Sports and Education. In 1997 Ahmet completed a second degree in Fine Arts.

Elisa Lüleci van Dam  /   Company Manager - Rehearsal Director
Elisa has been performing with various dance ensembles for over 20 years, including 10 years with Mandala, and 14 years with Collage. She is the rehearsal director for Collage, as well as its dancer of longest-standing, costume fixer, publicist, cheer leader, and mediator. Elisa is the Director of Executive Education at Simmons School of Management, and mother to the talented Timo.

Ronit Ronen Tamir / Choreographer
Ronit is a dancer and Dance Educator, holds and BA degree in Dance from the Rubin Academy of music and dance in Jerusalem and a BA in Education from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem as well as an MA in Dance Education from Columbia University NY. Currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Educational Studies at Lesley University. Ronit has an extensive dance teaching background with children and adults in Israel as well as in the United States. Ronit has performed with leading Israeli folk dance companies like Karmon Dance Company and "Hora" Jerusalem and around the world.

Sherene Melania  /  Principal Artist 
Sherene is the Artistic Director and Principal Choreographer of Presidio Dance Theatre & Academy. She holds a B.A. in Performing Arts and Social Justice and University of San Francisco's Dean Medal for Excellence in the Arts; a Certificate for Ballet Direction Specialty and Choreography from the prestigious Saint Petersburg State Conservatory, Russia; and was selected by Mayor Gavin Newsom to serve on the San Francisco Arts Commission, representing the field of dance since 2007.

Sherene is a member of the SF Community Arts, Education, and Cultural Equity Committee, SF Arts Providers Alliance, California Arts Advocates, and International Dance Council UNESCO.  She designed and directs DANCE OUT! Presidio Performing Arts Foundation's free citywide education program offered in the public schools, funded by the California Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts, which was nominated by the Presidio Trust to receive the President's Commission for Arts & Humanities, Coming Up Taller Award.

Trained in classical dance by San Francisco Ballet and Kirov Academy of Ballet, Washington, DC, Sherene performed principal youth roles with both San Francisco Ballet and Kirov Ballet (on its US national tour), and at 16, participated in the Prix de Lausanne international dance competition, one of twelve to represent the USA. Concurrently, she studied character and international folk dance in the style of Igor Moiseyev. After spending two years in Russia as the student of Kirov Ballet Mistress, Gabriella Komleva, Sherene performed as a guest artist with ballet and folk companies in Russia, France, Germany, Sweden, Brazil, and Switzerland.

As a Choreographer, she has set pieces for dance companies at home and abroad, and presented for the United Nations, International Red Cross, and PBS. She annually presents Winter and Spring Seasons for Presidio Dance Theatre. 2008 live audiences exceeded 40,000 at major venues and festivals including the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, Marin Center, Palace of Fine Arts, Herbst Theater, Davies Symphony Hall, SF City Hall; Saint Petersburg's famed White Nights Festival at the Catherine Palace; and the 300th Anniversary of Tsarskoye Selo International Festival. Her work has been recognized by the press nationally in Dance Magazine, Dance Teacher, and internationally broadcast. In 2008, Sherene received a national award from Nickelodeon Television for "Best Artsy Program" in the SF Bay Area.

Sherene Melania uses her passion for dance to encourage not only an appreciation for the arts and artistic excellence, but also the value of developing "complete artists" who utilize academic and dance education, as a tool for promoting cultural awareness and understanding, leading to a deep compassion for humanity.

Kaeshi Chai  /  Guest Soloist 
Kaeshi Chai was born in Brunei and brought up in New Zealand and Australia. She co-founded the New York-based dance company Bellyqueen with Amar Gamal in 1998 and is its artistic director. In 2004, Kaeshi also co-founded PURE (Public Urban Ritual Experiment) [www.puredance.org], a healing dance and music community, which has rapidly spread into many branches all over the US and internationally. Kaeshi has performed and taught all over the world, including the US, Canada, Europe, Mexico, the Carribean, Australia, South America and throughout Asia. In 2003-2004, she performed with the first professional touring bellydance company in the world, the Bellydance Superstars and held the position of dance captain for the 2004 US & Canadian Spring tour. She can be seen in the following DVDs: "American Bellydancer"; "Bellydance Jam" by Bellyqueen; "Live in Paris at the Folies Begere"; and "Crazed: The Bellydance". In her spare time, Kaeshi studies Mandarin, enjoys traveling, and drinking soy chai lattes.

Campbell Keatinge-Clay  /  Soloist 
Campbell has been dancing ever since she could walk. As a child, she twirled and tapped her way across stages in her hometown of Houston, Texas. She moved out to California to study Computer Science at Stanford University, where she performed and taught couple dances with world-renowned dance historian Richard Powers and was awarded the Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts for her achievement in dance. Campbell has credits with several San Francisco Bay Area companies, including Swing Cats Rhythm Revue, Academy of Danse Libre, and Knotts Dance Company. She currently teaches Waltz, Swing, and Blues, along with solo dance forms such as Tap and Jazz. When she is not wearing her dance shoes, Campbell works as a user experience design consultant and a math tutor.

The Company

Anna Angelova  Anna's obsession with dancing led her to Collage, where she found the energy, consistency, and motivation she searched for. Her passion for folk rhythms goes back to her high school years when she performed with the "N. Vaptzarov" Folk Dance Ensemble in her hometown of Cherven briag, Bulgaria.After obtaining a degree in applied linguistics, Anna flew to Boston to pursue her master's degree in education. Currently, she is enjoying her role as a a special educator in the Boston Public Schools.

Kate Engle grew up in the back woods of Maine, and now works at a Boston-area international adoption agency. She holds a BA in Russion from St. Olaf College and a Master of Social Work from the University of New Hampshire. Kate has been dancing since she was seven and has a passion for foreign languages and cultures. She first began combining these interests in college, where she was a member of the Veselica International Dance Ensemble. Kate has been dancing with Collage since 2004.

Basak Ülker Karbeyaz /  Costume Coordinator A native of Turkey, Basak holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University. She has been dancing with the company since 2003 and is addicted to Collage's energetic atmosphere. Between rehearsals, Basak works for a medical imaging company as a development engineer.

Elena Kollarova is from Cherven bryag, Bulgaria. She just arrived in the USA and is currently a freshman at Suffolk University, majoring in Marine Biology. She started dancing in the first grade with the “N. Vaptzarov" Folk Dance Ensemble in Bulgaria. She attended the National High School of Mathematics and Sciences with a Biology profile. She is on the board of Boston’s Rotary club where she participates in volunteer work and community service projects.

Alexis Maharam started dancing with Collage about a year ago. She spent 4 years performing with BU on Tap, Boston University's student run tap dance ensemble, while completing a BA in economics and statistics. Since arriving in Boston, she has performed with several local Israeli dance troupes, which led her to Collage. Alexis is currently working as a product analyst for an auto insurance company downtown. She loves the new challenges Collage brings to her dancing and promises to learn more Turkish one day soon.

Taner Oktar was born in Izmir, Turkey in 1976. He graduated with a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Middle East Technical University in 1998. He then completed his master's studies in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Management and Information Systems at Northeastern University, in 2000 and 2003, respectively. He is currently working in a software company. He danced tango for one and a half years before he joined Collage in the fall of 2006.

Tugba Bagci Önder /  Costume Coordinator Tugba has been dancing with Collage since 2003 and enjoying every moment of it. A native of Turkey, Tugba holds a PhD degree in Neuroscience from Tufts University and now works at Harvard University as a postdoctoral fellow. When Tugba is not dancing with Collage, she is either running experiments in the laboratory or dancing the Argentine Tango with her husband.

Ann Cox Wicks began dancing at age 13 and is always interested in exploring different styles of dance. A native of New Hampshire and owner of a vast shoe collection, Ann holds a degree in Archaeology from Boston University and now works in communications for the New England Foundation for the Arts. Someday she hopes to return to Brazil where she once danced with the winning samba school in the carnival parade. Ann has been dancing with Collage since 2001.

Timo van Dam Lüleci has been a member of Collage since he was born. He never misses any rehearsals, and is in charge of the dressing room areas during all shows. He loves improvisational dancing, and his goal is to be a soloist/lead dancer of the company, and eventually, its leader. He recentley has started performing with the group as well.

Hasan Kayhan Özcimder is from Ankara, Turkey. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Now he is advancing his career in the States. Kayhan adores dancing and loves every kind of music. He started dancing with Collage in September, 2008 and is glad to be a new member. It will help him using skills for achieving a goal.

Mustafa Bakir is from Kütahya, Turkey. He has a B.A. in Math education. He worked as a Math teacher in Turkey. After he was honored with a scholarship from Turkish Government, he came to US in order to get masters in Math education.

Revital Talli Shaar ?was born and raised in Netanya, Israel and began dancing at the age of four. Her dance training ranges from classical ballet to modern and character dance. From the ages of 12 to 16, Tali performed on the television show "Festival" as well as other television performances. She moved to New York at the age of 16 and graduated from Queens College with a degree in computer science. After several years in New York, she moved to Boston where she established her own business in the jewelry industry. Tali recently joined Collage and is enjoying the chance to rekindle the love for dance she has in her soul.

Dancers Emeritus

Collage generally holds open auditions at the beginning of
the dance season, in late August or earlySeptember.

If you are interested in being notified of the date of our next audition,
or if you would like to discuss a private audition, please contact
Ahmet Luleci at 617-795-2468 or info@collageusa.org