KYBELE Dance Theatre (Los Angeles, Ca) Founded in 2003 by Seda Aybay, Kybele Dance Theater has toured and been presented in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Fresno, Fullerton, Concord, San Jose, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Temecula and Istanbul, Turkey. KDT won First Place in the 2016 Front and Main Dance Festival, Second Place in the 2016 McCallum Choreography Festival and awarded the 2015 Elite Original Choreography Award, Dance Under the Stars Festival, MAD BAD Festival, as well as the RAW 2011 Los Angeles Performing Artist Award. Seda’s works have been toured and presented in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Long Beach, Fresno, Fullerton, Concord, San Jose, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Temecula and Istanbul, Turkey. Kybele Dance Theater, under the direction of Seda Aybay, strives to share work that contains elements of socio-political issues with emphasis on inclusion, diversity, gender, spirituality, philosophy and immigration as subtext. While the repertory may present what is broken thematically, the movement reflects solutions and positivity. We are a company of artists who strive to unite the basic tenants of humanity through performance and outreach. Notable examples stretch beyond classical stage performance to include numerous site specific performances presented free of charge in an effort to reach a diverse range of audiences, as well as fundraiser events such as original work performed for Polio Plus’s fundraiser, free master classes to raise awareness for breast cancer, and Immersive Collective LA’s fundraiser for troubled and abused youth. KDT believes that change starts by reaching just one person; by changing misconceptions and reshaping cultural misunderstanding, art can cultivate a chain reaction of positive social impact. "Kina has beautiful moments and extraordinary dancing." – Jeff Slayton, LA Dance Chronicle “... her sophisticated sense of movement counterpoint sustained interest in her formal patterning.” – Lewis Segal, LA Times “Aybay displayed choreographic flair and a cutting-edge sensibility.” – Victoria Looseleaf, LA Times “Seda is a poetic genius.” – Jodie Gates, Vice Dean, Director, Glorya Kaufman School of Dance "Plunging squats, deeply arching backs and lush turns ..." – Claudia La Rocco, New York Times "Seda Aybay’s work is rich with movement, purpose and thought-provoking images. " – Jeff Slayton, LA Dance Chronicle