Nejla Y. Yatkin was born to Turkish-Muslim parents in Berlin, Germany. As she was brought up, life was to be dedicated to her culture. Encouraged by her parents, Nejla studied Turkish folk dance at a very young age. In their mind, this was a way for her to connect to her roots and it also served as a way for her to learn to express/discover herself. At the age of 14, fate brought her to two dance teachers from New York City who lived in Berlin. These two would change her life as they revealed to Nejla new ways of moving that she wanted to explore further. Unlike the folk dance, however, this type of dance would not be viewed well by her parents. Indeed, Nejla had to hide this dancing from everyone she knew because in her family's belief system it was a sin for Muslim women to dance in public. Where Women Don't Dance is a film that celebrates Nejla's strength as well as perseverance and takes you on a journey through her art while she is on tour with her company in Central America.
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