The Greek goddess of victory must be looking over the shoulders of a young Turkish dancer. The goddess of victory was called Nike. Read the name backwards, and you will have Ekin, the young dancer who won the sports giant Nike’s Dance Competition in Turkey in 2006, and went on the following year to be a sports model for Nike.

Ekin Bernay is 22 now, studying her undergraduate degree at the London School of Arts, and continuing with her occasional work as a backup dancer for Turkish pop star Kenan Do?ulu. Ekin entered the Nike Dance Competition three years ago with a little bit of a push from her then university friends in Ankara’s Bilkent University, where she was studying Communication and Design. Ekin became first in the competition, and joined the winners from Holland, Israel, Spain and the UK to a trip to Los Angeles. There, they obtained the privilege to study with the legendary dancer and choreographer Jamie King, who’s known for his collaboration with stars like Madonna, Prince, Shakira and Christina Aguilera.

A lifelong passion

While she was sweating off with Jamie King, Ekin, turning 19, received what was perhaps the best birthday present of her life until that moment: a phone call asking her to be the model for Nike’s 2007 catalogues. She became the second person from Turkey to be featured in Nike’s promotional materials, the first one being soccer player Nihat Kahveci.

Dancing has always been a passion for Ekin, who started ballet when she was in primary school. She has worked with well-known Turkish choreographers like Ömür Uyan?k and Tunç Öz?akar since her childhood. Today, her lifelong passion continues to flourish, and she is learning even more at the London School of Arts. And who is Ekin’s favourite dancer? The energetic dancer known from Nike commercials: Kimberlee Jay.

Dancing for happiness and health

Ekin is also a vocal advocate of sports and engaging children with sports from early ages. She believes that the culture of sports in Turkey still has a lot of room for improvement: “People don’t yet see sports as an integral part of everyday life.”

That is why, in 2008, she was one of the front-runners of the international marathon, Nike+ Human Race. The event was organized in 25 cities around the world, with more than one million people running at the same time. Ekin led the group running over Istanbul’s Bosphorus Bridge, and danced alongside Kenan Do?ulu upon finishing the race.

Whenever the media have questions for Ekin, she is quick to talk about her full commitment to social responsibility projects in Turkey. She strongly argues that “sports should not only be done by professionals,” and that “it is the job of the government and the civil society to engage every child in the sport of their preference.” Ekin is well aware of what dancing has done for her, and reminds everyone that it is the best recipe for “happiness and health.”