Buse Özmen

Founder Trainer of Somatic Oriental®; Performance Artist / Belly Dance Artist; Somatic Dialogue® Facilitator; and Dance & Movement Therapist (MA).

To support my vision in the field of dance, I completed my training in Breath Coaching and Life Coaching outside of academia. During my Qi Gong based Yin Yoga teacher training, I focused on more esoteric perspectives such as Taoist philosophy, the body’s energy points, meridians and chakras and the elements.

I made a conscious effort to keep my knowledge of the body and health up to date through training in Functional Anatomy and Connective Tissue and Fascia Anatomy. After studying connective tissue from a theoretical perspective, I began to explore in practical terms how fascial health, whose importance we understand much more clearly today, can be maintained through dance. I continue to keep this research current by pursuing further training at the Rolfing Institute in Munich.

By examining yin yang duality both in theory and within movement itself, I gained clarity on the idea that feminine energy carries a meaning far beyond conventional notions of femininity. Within dance practice, I developed new exercises and methods on how feminine energy can be embodied and sustained through movement.

Since 2015, I have completed the practitioner training of Somatic Dialogue®, which has been my primary source of movement.

During my master’s studies in Dance and Movement Therapy, I received academic level training in body oriented therapeutic approaches widely recognized in scientific literature such as Laban Movement Analysis, Bartenieff Fundamentals, Body Therapies, Kestenberg Movement Profile and Moving Cycles.

While I was shaping my life around an academic path and mathematics, dance came to me naturally; it became one of the most important supports that deepened my connection to life.

A childhood spent writing poems and short stories from the age of seven gradually transformed into an adolescence that wanted to write poetry through the body. I decided to pursue dance professionally at the age of 15 and later entered Istanbul Bilgi University’s Department of Performing Arts on a full scholarship, graduating as the top student of my department.

Throughout my university education, I received academic training in a wide range of fields including dance and movement techniques, acting, diction, ballet, contemporary dance, contemporary theatre, experimental theatre, bodies and technologies, yoga, contact improvisation, the history of performing arts, creativity-oriented practices, performance art and somatic studies. In addition, during my undergraduate years, I participated in numerous body-based practices such as Skinner Releasing Technique, Axis Syllabus, Mikusano Mitakara and Bones for Life.

I have also worked in fields such as clinical psychology, neurological disorders, child and adolescent therapy, rehabilitation, refugee services and women’s shelters.

I wrote my master’s thesis on Belly Dance, Dance Movement Therapy and Sexuality. While integrating belly dance into dance therapy, I explored how we can offer supportive pathways for our relationship with sexuality. At the same time, I developed the Belly Dance Therapy (Göbek Dansı Terapi®) method.

In a therapeutic context, I worked as a dance and movement therapist at the Social Psychiatry Service of Çapa Hospital. I facilitated movement focused group therapies with patients with various diagnoses.

I never take a break from learning and even during my busiest periods I continue to research new movement terminologies. In order to renew and expand my practice, I continue to participate in international fields such as Gaga Dancers, Human Animal, Sevilla flamenco, Rolfing and urban dance forms.

My Mission & Vision

To offer structured trainings and sessions that allow participants to realize that dance emerges naturally when they connect with their feminine qualities rather than striving to perform movement. To create spaces where the philosophy of our bodies can be reflected upon, questioned, shared and healed.

The unification of the body and trans bodily sensations within a dance experience. Consciousness flowing through the body and connecting to the whole. Through this, making it possible to embody the movement of our soul within the reality of the world.

Academic Education

Istanbul Bilgi University, Performing and Visual Arts – Bachelor’s Degree

History of Art Institutions, Art History, Diction, Movement and Acting Techniques, Psychology for Health Institutions, Representations of Nature, Advanced Movement Techniques, Ballet, Contemporary Dance, Yoga for Dancers, Contact Dance, Partnering, Improvisation Techniques in Dance, Fundamental Principles of Acting, Contemporary Topics in Performance Arts, Performance Readings, Bodies and Technologies, Ecological Sustainability, Creative Processes, Performance and Somatic Studies, Choreographic Composition, Gender in Everyday Life, Production and Directing, Contemporary Theatre, Site Specific Performance, History of Performing Arts, Acting for Camera, Experimental Theatre and Stage Lighting and Design.

2015-2019

SRH Heidelberg, Dance and Movement Therapy-Master’s Degree

Therapeutic Sciences, Introduction to Dance Therapy, Psychology and Psychotherapy Approaches, Principles of Dance and Movement Therapy, Clinical Psychology, Movement Observation and Movement Analysis, Kestenberg Movement Profile, Laban and Bartenieff Analyses, Embryology in Dance Research, Neurology and Quantitative Research, Clinical Internship, Body Therapies, Aggression Regulation, Community Practices in Dance Therapy, Supervision, Applied Movement Analysis, Moving Cycle Technique, Evidence Based Clinical Practices, Dance Therapy with Children and Adolescents, Arts Therapies and Specific Applications, Dance and Movement Therapy and Interdisciplinary Approaches, Advanced Clinical Placement, Law and Ethics.

2022-2024

Certified Trainings

2024 - Anatomy Touch Movement I and II, Rolfing® Institute Munich
2023 - How Can We Work with Sexual Trauma from an SE® Perspective?
2023 - The Moving Cycle I and II
2022 - Connective Tissue, Fascia and Joint Anatomy
2019 - Qi Gong Based Yin Yoga Teacher Training
2019 - Breath and Life Coaching, European Accreditation EALS
2019 - Functional Anatomy
2017 - WDP Istanbul Qi Gong Facilitation Training
2015 - Somatic Dialogue® Facilitator Training