Title of Project：Contemporary Dance Samsara by Aakash Odedra Company (Project in-progress)

Genre(s): Contemporary Dance.

GROUP:Aakash Odedra Company

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF : Samsara is the forthcoming production of Aakash Odedra Company opening in March 2020. A choreographic and performance collaboration between Aakash Odedra (UK/India) and Hu Shenyuan (China), the piece draws upon their personal spirituality and the vast histories, philosophies and cultures of the ancient neighbouring civilisations of China and India who are finding a new meaning in modern times. Aakash first saw Hu on stage at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre in 2016 and was captivated by him. Assisted by Farooq Chaudhry, the pair met in Shanghai in March 2017 and have spent much time with one another since. Remarkably, Hu speaks very little English and Aakash speaks no mandarin. Yet the two have bonded through movement and are infinitely curious about what has brought them together. Hu is a practitioner of Chinese folk dance and Aakash of the Indian classical form Kathak, and in modernity contemporary dance is their common movement language. However, they recognise that their traditional forms of dance had philosophical commonality, both are spiritual and devotional at their core. They were inspired by the classic 16th century Chinese novel, the journey of a monk who travelled 18 years looking for original Buddhist scripture, and his truth, encountering numerous difficulties. Samsara traces the steps we take, both forward and backward, in search of our higher selves. The harsh landscape of the Himalayas, the physical landscape in which the novel is set, serves also as a metaphorical landscape for the quest that Aakash and Hu have found themselves on. The monk’s journey itself highlights the inter-dependency between civilisations for sharing knowledge and culture is millennia old. Gautam Siddhartha, the founder of Buddhism is depicted as a dark-skinned round-eyed man in India, but in China he is lighter skinned and with more oval shaped eyes. The messenger changed their appearance for the message to be accepted in new lands. Following the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression award-winning production #JeSuis, a stellar collaborative team will work with Aakash and Hu to create the world of this journey, in what promises to be an extremely timely, exciting and popular next production. Our creatives on board are Tina Tzoka (Set Design), Yaron Abulafia (Lighting Design), Nicki Wells (Composer), and Lou Cope (Dramaturg).

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