Draft:Esma Ertel

Esma Ertel (born 18 February 1984) is a Turkish dancer, writer and curator. She is the wife of Murat Ertel and the daughter-in-law of Mengü Ertel and Ülfet Ertel. She is the member of BaBa ZuLa.

She is an artist who produces in different fields such as music, dance, writing and directing.

Biography
Ertel, who grew up with the Semah and Cem ceremonies and concepts in Alevi Bektashi culture starting from her childhood, in her performances She started to perform with BaBa ZuLa, bringing together completely different dance genres. (2009) Ertel, who calls her style 'tribal fusion dance', has danced with groups such as Blue Sun 69, Otoji Ray, Eat Static, Compro Oro, Red Axes and Dirtmusic, as well as BaBa ZuLa, in many countries and international festivals from Brazil to Japan. She also started doing vocals in BaBa ZuLa, Compro Oro and Dirtmusic (2018). She directed two videos for Dirtmusic's songs 'This is a dream' and 'Bi de Sen Söyle' and designed the cover of the band's limited edition album 'Live' (2018). In the group Mavi Güneş 69, which she restarted with her husband Murat Ertel, she revealed her songwriting skills as well as her dancing and vocals. She both wrote the lyrics and composed the songs "3 Çember" and "Yafta" on the first 45 of Mavi Güneş 69. The two artists interpreted and recorded these songs together with their children. (2019) She also co-wrote the lyrics and composition of the song "Haller Yollar" in BaBa ZuLa's album Derin Derin (2019) with Murat Ertel.

Esma Ertel, who also plays the bendir and theremin, is a member of MESAM. Producing and creating in different art disciplines, Ertel also took part in various works as an art director, designer and curator. Derin Derin made drawings on the album cover based on Mengü Ertel's work and undertook the art direction of the album. She curated and art directed the Uzelli Elektro Saz (1974-1986) album with Murat Ertel. She was also the art director of the book From the Drawer of Friends - Cihat Burak Works from the Mengü Ertel Collection (2019) and curated the exhibition From the Drawer of Friends with Oğuz Erten. In 2020, she wrote her first children's book titled "Good Morning to the Children of the World" based on the patterns drawn by painter Mehmet Güleryüz. The book was published as a regular and special edition by Doğan Kitap. He also undertook the design of the book. She released a concept album titled "Simurg" with Belgian acid jazz band Compro Oro and Murat Ertel, the album was selected as one of the best jazz albums of 2020 by Bandcamp.

She made and published stop motion animations and short films on children's rights with the support of the European Union. Together with Murat Ertel, he undertook the cover designs of BaBa ZuLa's 2020 album Hayvan Gibi and Moğollar's last album Anatolian Sun. She wrote lyrics and sang vocals for the songs Hum Hum and Western Lands by the band Dirtmusic. Together with BaBa ZuLa, she made music for silent films by playing the theremin (2022) SHe took part in the Air Anatolia project and danced and sang vocals on two songs at the London Jazz Festival and in Istanbul. (2022) In collaboration with the Music Will Not Be Silent platform, the group performed and recorded Murat Ertel's composition Aşıkların Sözü Kalır (Asıkların Sözü Kalır) with about 70 artists such as Hayko Cepkin, Mercan Dede, Kemal Sahir Gürel, Ayşe Tütüncü, Ayşenur Kolivar, Sabahat Akkiraz. Pentagram and Gramafonia took part in two parts of the track. (2023)

In co-operation with the European Union, she designed and directed a documentary called 7 Difference 7 Taste 7 Folk Songs (2023). Together with Genjah and Murat Ertel, he released a song called 'Asya Velvele Dub' as a single. The illustrator Bartu Bölükbaşı worked with Esma Ertel and Saint Benoit High School students to produce workshops on two mythological characters named Umay Ana and Moon Iyesi. 2024 2024 Mardin Art Biennial was invited by curator Ali Akay as an artist. Esma Ertel speaks English and is married with two children. She still continues to work in different art disciplines.