Mehmet Akif Ersoy Week was crowned with the "Korkma" show at the Istanbul AKM Stage

Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ) crowned the Mehmet Akif Ersoy Week events with a meaningful performance in Istanbul. The music and dance-themed theatrical folk dance performance prepared by the academicians and students of MAKÜ Turkish Music State Conservatory met with art lovers at the Istanbul Atatürk Cultural Center.

The theatrical performance titled “Korkma” staged in the Istanbul leg of the events organized within the scope of Mehmet Akif Ersoy Week brought the spirit of the National Struggle period to the stage. Centered around the historical process during which the National Anthem was written, the performance offered a powerful narrative through music, body, and movement language, inspired by Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s inner world. The narrative-based performance was applauded by the audience for a long time.

The program began with a music recital by the Istanbul Symphony Orchestra consisting of Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s works. Then, the university promotional film prepared by MAKÜ Corporate Communication Application and Research Center was shared with the audience.

Speaking before the performance, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zeynel Turan, a faculty member of the Turkish Music Department at MAKÜ Turkish Music State Conservatory, who undertook the scriptwriting and choreography of the work, stated that a nation’s struggle for existence would be witnessed on stage. Turan expressed that the work focused on the challenging period during which the National Anthem was written and aimed to interpret Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s emotional world and inner struggle from a contemporary perspective.

Emphasizing that the performance was designed as the voice of Mehmet Akif Ersoy through dance and music, Turan stated that the work was not based on words but carried the quality of a narrative conveyed through body language. The entirely original work symbolically brought to the stage the resistance fire ignited in Anatolia, the spirit of Kuvâ-yı Milliye, and the independence victory achieved with the establishment of the regular army, starting from the Çanakkale Epic. It was noted that the decor, costumes, and accessories used in the performance, which emerged after an intense preparation period of approximately three months, were also prepared by the students.

Speaking after the performance, MAKÜ Rector Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Dalgar stated that this year they realized the Mehmet Akif Ersoy Week with comprehensive events spread over a week in Burdur for the first time. Reminding that Mehmet Akif Ersoy was born in Istanbul and served as a deputy of Burdur, Dalgar expressed their pride in organizing such an event in Istanbul, the center of culture and art, as a university bearing his name.

Rector Dalgar also thanked the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for their contributions and stated that they aim to carry out new projects at home and abroad in the coming years to better convey Mehmet Akif Ersoy to especially the younger generations. Thanking the academicians and students who contributed to the event, Dalgar emphasized that efforts to keep Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s world of ideas alive would continue to increase.