Rutkay Özpinar

Rutkay  started  dancing  hip hop  and  breakdance  from  a  very  young  age and later  made the switch to contemporary dance and classical ballet. He did the Boys Action-program with Artez and graduated from the Codarts in Rotterdam. In 2014 he created his very first work for Korzo at the age of 23, which made him the  youngest choreographer  to  date  in  The  Netherlands.  Rutkay  currently is one of Korzo’s in-house makers. Since 2015 he is also a guest dancer with Introdans.

Rutkay approaches dance from a human perspective. His own language of dance is heavily influenced by Turkish dance culture. In 2019 he researched Turkish folk dance, delving deep into styles like belly dance and Halay. Within these traditions, Rutkay found renewal and substance. He learnt how to bend esthetical and technical movements and approach them from a different perspective.

Rutkay’s signature is a mixture of various styles, including contemporary dance, Turkish folk dance, classical ballet and hip hop. This unique mix makes Rutkay hard to pin down. With him, it’s always the intent that brings dance to life. Rutkay believes in unlimited possibilities. Through organic movements of the body and detailed articulations of unusual shapes, he shows how the body is looking for its limits. Rutkay likes to work with this contradiction, treating unnatural physical shapes as naturally as possible. And in doing so, he unleashes the primordial instinct that rages inside the body and tries to break free.

The contrast in Rutkays dance language is highlighted by spontaneous narrative gestures. In Rutkays work, his vision on life and the essence of our life is often the key subject matter. In his performances, you can see this unfold in all kinds of different shapes and forms. Though there’s always a common denominator: his shows are always intense and exhilarating. Rutkay likes to drag you away from daily life and transport you somewhere different. His work is dynamic and pushes from one extreme to the other. Rutkays feelings and emotions are intense, and he likes to share this experience with the audience. Everyone is part of this rhythm in Rutkays shows, be it the dancers or the audience.

Over the years, Rutkay created plenty of works and performances for Korzo. He joined Korzo-series Here we live and now twice (2014 & 2015), created Voorjaarsontwaken (2015 & 2016) and 4x4; The Fellowship of Dance (2017). Additionally, he won the BNG Bankprijs with his piece Grip (2015). Rutkay’s research in traditional Turkish dance styles – for example Halay and Zeybek – led to his project Gönülden Gelen (2019), which merged these styles with his own dance language.

In 2023, Rutkay created the full-length performance Work Line, about the performance drive of our generation. After its premiere at Korzo, Rutkay and dancers went on a nationwide theatre tour. Another new work followed in spring 2024: Something about Something, a performance about the interpretation of dance, that premiered in a double-bill with new work by fellow maker in residence Zino Schat. In November, Rutkay will leave Korzo as a maker in residence. He says farewell with the programme Lift Off, in which he will show three new works and introduce audiences to his alter ego Johnny Montgomery.

Rutkay’s ambition is to have his own dance company one day and to create work for other companies. Working on multidisciplinary projects remains a constant goal for him, one sparked by his great love for fashion and music.