Kudret Şandra

Kudret Şandra was one of the notable male figures in twentieth-century Turkish Oriental dance. He began performing professionally as a teenager and developed a career in both dance and acting. His presence is particularly significant because male professional Oriental dancers are frequently omitted from simplified histories of the form. After leaving regular stage performance, Şandra continued to teach and influenced other performers. His career demonstrates that Turkish Oryantal has never been an exclusively female professional tradition.