About
Biography
Özel Türkbaş was a Turkish dancer, singer, actress and author who became highly influential in the United States. After an early career in Turkish entertainment and cinema, she moved to America in 1959. Her performances, recordings and instructional publications introduced many Western audiences to Turkish music and belly dance. She became part of the first major wave of Middle Eastern and Turkish performers shaping the American belly-dance scene. Her legacy is especially important for understanding how Turkish dance was taught, packaged and popularised in the West during the second half of the twentieth century.