Doors at 8pm

"Roman Night" by Alaturca Connection

Alaturca Connection will be back on stage on Nov 19th with a unique performance prepared for Berkeley’s historic international art and music venue, Ashkenaz. The show will feature upbeat Roman songs by the band and dances by Aldo Ruiz, Juliano Wade, Melike Sengul and Nicole Maria. Promise is to make you dance and sweat all night.

Alaturca Connection performs Turkish, Ladino, Balkan, Roman music, connects cultures, people through their events. Their arrangements are a bridge between traditional and modern, old and new. The band is a regular performer in Bay Area clubs and weddings and the organizer of two big annual events: A fundraising concert, "The Songs for the Future", to benefit underprivileged girls’ education in Turkey and "The San Francisco Turkish Festival". Benji Bloom Rifati-trumpet, Faisal Zedan-rhythm, Jesse Torre-guitar, Mansour Ghanbari-bass, Nurdan Civi-vocal, Sean Tergis-rhythm, Younes Makboul-violin.

Aldo Ruiz has many years of experience mostly in flamenco and more recently in Turkish music. He has performed for San Francisco Opera in "La Trabiata" and San Jose Opera in "Carmen". His recent work includes performances with different Bay Area Turkish bands.

Melike Sengul was born in Istanbul. She began training in both classical ballet and folk dance at the age of 10. Her physical flexibility has helped her belly dance talent. Due to her proximity to the Roman district, Melike had the opportunity to study Roman Havasi first hand the traditional and fictitious Turkish Roman dance in 9/8. Melike recently relocated to California, where she now performs with several formations from the Balkan and Turkish scenes while continuing her studies in modern dance at San Francisco City College.

Nicole Maria is a multi-award winning dancer based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. She has been studying and performing contemporary and traditional forms of Arabic dance for over a decade. In 2019, she was a featured soloist in the prestigious San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. As one of the most in-demand professional belly dancers in the Bay Area, Nicole Maria has entertained at countless events and private parties in the region as well as around the world.