In ZEY’BrEaK, Memiş uses movement and dance to look at questions of identity and definition. Based on his own biography, Memiş and his mirror image Yavuz Topuz tell the ever-repeating story of leaving, travelling and arriving. Elements of the Turkish Zeybek dance of his forefathers and of Hip Hop create a new hybrid dance form and exemplify the complexity of identities.

The tradition of the Zeybeks, often referred to as the Anatolian Robin Hoods, stems from a century-old culture of resistance in Western Turkey. Their philosophy of life, which rejects any kind of authority, is expressed in their unique dance style based o improvisation.

Respect, pride, loyalty and individualism mark the attitude of these self-confident fighters. These are also characteristic for the Hip Hop culture which Kadir Memiş discovered when he came to Berlin from a village in Western Turkey at the age of ten.

In ZEY’BrEaK, Memiş uses movement and dance to let the traditions of his ancestors clash with his own urban life style. Hybrid spaces open up are interpreted by the music of Nevzat Akpınar. Based on European and Anatolian musical traditions, Akpınar and his musicians melt together the rhythmical structures of Zeybek and Hip Hop: age-old rhythms meet urban beats.