Aydan (eye-done), an Istanbul native, graduated from the Joffrey Ballet School's BFA program in Music, Dance, and Theater with a concentration in dance at the age of 18. She is currently the youngest Board Director for New York non-profit Flight Path Dance Project, as well as the youngest member of Kelly Peters' X Pro crew at Brickhouse NYC.
Aydan grew up as a Turkish Folk and belly dancer. She went on to receive Vaganova ballet training in the top national performing arts school in Türkiye. After touring the elite Juilliard School in 2013, she was determined to be a performer and creative in NYC. In 2018, she was accepted to American Ballet Theater Gillespie School, The Ailey School, Boston Ballet School, National Ballet Academy of Amsterdam, and at just 13 years old, her family relocated to New York so Aydan could continue her studies in the Joffrey Ballet School's Jazz & Contemporary program under the direction of Angelica Stiskin.
Aydan has since worked with respected names such as Beth Crandall, Kyla Bullings, Billy Griffin, Rob Bynes, Michael Peña, Gregory Lau, Jacqulyn Buglisi, and more across a wide array of genres. She has performed in renowned NYC venues such as Lincoln Center, New York Live Arts, Symphony Space, and more. Aydan found her passion for musical theater performing in productions of Legally Blonde (Vivienne), A Chorus Line (Bobby), Addams Family (Pugsley), Pippin and Hello, Dolly! working with Ellyn Marsh, Marc Dalio, David Vaughn, Andrew Winans, Michelle McConnell and more.
For five seasons, Aydan danced with NYC based repertory company, Flight Path Dance Project. Prior to becoming the youngest member on the Board of Directors, she was the resident co-dance captain and company administrative assistant for the 2023-24 season. At Flight Path, she has worked with celebrated choreographers Akira Uchida, Caili Quan, Madi Hicks, Stephanie Martinez, Yusha-Marie Sorzano, Michael Trusnovec, Juel D. Lane, Nina Flagg, Jaclyn Walsh and more under the direction of Michael McGowan.
Aydan is the choreographer of the original musical Dear Cassandra by Julia Crafton, the 2026 NYU Tisch Pro Funds recipient with the first staged developmental workshop at Pearl Studios in March. Other choreography credits include They Called Me Rita, starring Nelia McNicol and directed by Lil Malinich at the United Solo Theatre Festival, the short film Paprika (lead dancer and choreographer), and Deborah (movement director), filmed at the Martin Scorsese Virtual Production Center. Additional credits include serving as associate choreographer for Mean Girls Jr. (dir. Kristopher Thompson-Bolden, choreo. Maximillien Baud), as well as Rent and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at NYU Steinhardt (dir. Errik Hood, choreo. Katelyn Prominski). She is currently choreographing and movement directing several upcoming short- and long-term projects.
As a writer, Aydan has developed short plays for organizations including Youth Write Now led by acclaimed playwright Donja R. Love in partnership with Pride Plays, as well as the female-led CreateHER under the SheNYC organization. She served as the resident intern for CreateHER’s Spring 2024 cohort under the mentorship of Hannah Rosenthal, Shira Wolf, and Bess Frankel. Aydan has since held assistant positions with Roundabout Theatre Company, Newport NewWorks Festival, and more.
Aydan strives to become a bold voice in entertainment as both a performer and creative leader, centering queer, immigrant, and feminist perspectives that resonate as deeply in her mind as they do in her body.
