Biography
Childhood
Dergin Tokmak was born December 26, 1973 in Augsburg, Germany. He contracted polio when 1 year old. Poliomyelitis is a virus that attacks the nerves that control your muscles. In Dergin's case, he lost the control of his left leg and some of the control of his right. He spent much of his childhood in German hospitals undergoing treatments to attempt to restore the full use of his legs... to no avail. Always a survivor, Dergin learned to walk on his hands.
Although Dergin was born in Germany, his parents are Turkish. In 1961 an agreement was signed allowing Turkish guest workers to come to Germany. Their families were not permitted to join them until the 1970's. (Dergin was born shortly after this time.) Today, these workers and their families have put down roots, many starting businesses of their own. Turks are the largest minority within Germany (over 2 Million ) and are still working to gain the rights of citizenship.
Until 2000 German citizenship was based on descent, not birthplace. So, even though he was born and raised in Germany, Dergin would not be recognized as a German citizen by birth. The movement to ease naturalization laws has met with strong resistance among some groups.
While the new generations have grown up in modern Germany, their parents or grandparents still hold to traditions from their homeland. For Dergin, this was like being raised in two worlds. Not surprisingly, he often felt caught between the two.
Break Dancing
When he was twelve years old a cousin brought him the movie "Breakin'". About two-thirds into the movie is a solo performed by Eddie "Handyman" Rodriguez, a break dancer who has no use of his legs. He performs on fore-arm crutches as well as some dizzying floor work. Dergin was inspired by the dance to perfect his own dancing style on crutches.
Over time Dergin became immersed in the break dancing & HipHop scene in Germany. At first he danced in youth clubs and dance studios. Like all breakdancers, he took a street name: "Stix". In 1990 Dergin formed his first HipHop dance group, (Da F.U.N.K funky united nation krew) with eight people. DA-Funk is still performing, although there are only three members now. (Check out their website at www.da-funk.tv) ;
Dergin branched out on his own starting in 1992, when he toured Germany with Run DMC. He took first place in a European street dance contest in 1993. During 1994 and 1995 he toured for FILA and Champion. The following year he turned to television, performing on television shows in Germany and Switzerland (ZDF "Tommy Ohrner Show", Pro 7 "Arabella night", SFR "Tacito", Sat 1 "Danke Anke", and more). Dergin next joined C-Block, a commercial HipHop group for a one-year tour of Europe in 1998. He came to the US in 2001 for spring break in Daytona, where he danced and made a trailer for the tv network Black Entertainment Television.
For the years prior to joining Cirque du Soleil, Dergin performed solo and with different artists like Paulo from Holland, Speedy from Germany and Angie from Switzerland. He also did more tv work and a theatre show in Holland. Working together with some other disabled breakdancers, he performed different shows including workshops for disabled children, for a company called "Aktion Mensch". Dergin has explored other pursuits in addition to dancing, including drafting and singing with a band... but his real love has always been break dancing.
Cirque du Soleil
He was performing in Berlin when a colleague called and told him about the opening for the "Limping Angel" role in Cirque du Soleil's show, Varekai. Nervous and hopeful, he contacted Cirque and was sent a tape of the show. After viewing the Solo on Crutches, he felt more confident: after all, he had been dancing on crutches most of his life!
The folks in Montreal were impressed when they saw him in action. Dergin went on to prove his ability by learning the role in two months. He worked with Bill Shannon, the choreographer of the Solo on Crutches act, to develop a version of the dance that blended his own powerful style with the more fluid motions of Shannon's original choreography.
Dergin Tokmak first performed the role of the Limping Angel in Varekai on February 13,2004 in Orange County(Costa Mesa). Dergin alternated in the role with Vladimir Ignatenkov for the last 2 weeks of the Orange County run. His official opening in the role was the premiere in San Diego. In the months since then he has transformed what was formerly a little noted act into one of the highlights of the show.
We look forward to following this talented dancer's career both with Cirque du Soleil and beyond!
Fly, Dergin!
