Meriç Sümen (born 25 May 1943) is a Turkish former ballerina and a choreographer.

Life

Meriç Sümen was born at

Silivri Silivri, formerly Selymbria (Greek language, Greek: Σηλυμβρία), is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 217,163 (2022). It lies along the Sea of Marmara, outsi ...

, Turkey in 1943. She completed the ballet section of Ankara State Conservatory in 1961. She began a dancing career in the Ankara Opera House. In addition to her ballet career, she often served in the administrative body. She was the art director between 1979 and 1986 in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, between 1986-1989 and 2000–2002 in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

ballets. On 5 July 2005, she was appointed director general of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet She retired on 15 October 2007. She is married and the mother of a son named Tunca, who is also a ballet dancer.

Career

In the early years, she gained fame in her performance in the romantic ballet '' Giselle''. She performed ''Giselle'' in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, Bulgaria and

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, the Soviet Union. She was the first ever foreign prima ballerina in

Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest Ballet company, ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it ca ...

. She also took part in many ballets in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Kiew,

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

and

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

, all then in the former

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. In later years, she also performed in the United States, Great Britain, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, Germany, Bulgaria, Algeria, Egypt, Tunis, Pakistan and Denmark. In 1983–1984, she obtained a teaching certificate from the Bolshoi. In 1998, she taught in Texas Ballet Theater. Many times in International ballet competitions, she took part in the jury.

Legacy

In 1981, she was awarded the honorary title State Artist. So far she is the only ballet dancer to gain this title. In 2010, Nevsal Baylas wrote a book about Meriç Sümen titled ''Dansa Aşık Bir Kuğu'' ("The Swan who fell in love with Dance") .''Nevsal Baylas'': Dansa aşık Bir Kuğu, Yapı Kredi Yayınları,

Her performances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumen, Meric 1943 births Living people People from Silivri Ankara State Conservatory alumni Turkish ballerinas Turkish ballet dancers Turkish women civil servants Turkish civil servants Turkish choreographers