23 October 

Following its UK premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival this August, Aakash Odedra Company’s epic new dance work Samsara, choreographed and performed by Birmingham-born dancer and Hippodrome Associate Aakash Odedra and Hu Shenyuan, arrives at Birmingham Hippodrome on Sunday 23 October at the end of its UK tour.

Samsara is a collaboration between Aakash Odedra and Hu Shenyuan, two of the world’s finest exponents of dance from their countries of origin, India and China. Odedra has attracted global attention for his virtuoso Kathak performances and his contemporary choreography. One of the outstanding dancers of his generation in China, Hu Shenyuan was the standout performer in Yang Liping’s Under Siege in 2016 – when Odedra first saw him and decided he wanted to work with him. The pair met in Shanghai in 2017 and, with no mutual spoken language, went on to create Samsara, a powerful story of cultural exchange and shared philosophy.

Samsara takes place in a desert landscape peopled with eerie human statues, created by set designer, Tina Tzoka. Yaron Abulafia’s lighting conjures a mythic world which the two dancers, Odedra and Shenyuan, enter and explore. Eventually they come together in a series of exquisitely-patterned virtuoso duets of challenge, reflection and exchange. Mongolian throat singing and traditional Chinese percussion are part of the powerful score, specially commissioned from Odedra’s regular collaborator, Nicki Wells. Samsara is directed by Aakash Odedra and dramaturgy is by Lou Cope.

Aakash said: “It is an honour to return back to the Hippodrome on the main stage with our new production, Samsara. As an Associate Artist, to be able to share my dream project with the city I was born in, is a special moment. Of course, every big dream has a silent hand behind it and as the commissioning partner of this venture, Birmingham Hippodrome has helped make my dream into a reality. Samsara is a place where time stands still, where past, present and future merge into one to create a time capsule of experiences.”

The work takes as its starting point Wu Cheng’en’s 16th century Chinese novel ‘Journey to the West’, one of the four great classical novels of Chinese literature. It tells the story of the legendary pilgrimage to India undertaken by the monk Xuanzang returning to China with the central tracts of Buddhist philosophy. Many monks followed in Xuanzang’s footsteps and their journeys were both literal and metaphorical, physical and spiritual.

Samsara has been made possible by the generous support of the Bagri Foundation, a family foundation dedicated to promoting the arts and culture of Asia. Aiming to challenge, engage and inspire, it gives artists and experts from across Asia, or those inspired by the continent, wider visibility on the global stage and supports a diverse programme of film, visual arts, music, dance, literature, courses and lectures.

Samsara is at Birmingham Hippodrome for one night only on Sunday 23 October. Tickets can be booked at Birminghamhippodrome.com or by calling 0844 338 5000*

*calls cost 4.5p per minute plus your phone company’s access charge

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1. Samsara is commissioned by Bagri Foundation. Co-producing/commissioning partners are Asia TOPA; Arts Centre Melbourne; Birmingham Hippodrome; Curve Leicester; the Royal Ballet; Shanghai International DanceCentre, Chaillot-National theatre for dance, Paris. Supporting partners are British Council; Jacob’s Pillow; Peacock Contemporary Dance Company (Kunming, China); Playking Foundation; Sidney Myer Fund; Victoria Government, ResCen Middlesex University. Samsara is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Samsara was produced by Anand Bhatt with strategic and dramaturgical assistance from Theresa Beattie. https://aakashodedra.com/

2. Based in Leicester, Aakash Odedra Company creates dance works through a synthesis of kathak, bharatanatyam, contemporary and Bollywood-jazz which push boundaries, responding to and drawing inspiration from contemporary issues. Bilingual in classical and contemporary dance it uses the voice of British-Asian experience to translate ancient and contemporary movement languages to tell new stories relevant to today. Its location within Leicester’s international communities has allowed it to be more aware of, and pro-active about, the opportunities of plural heritage and the importance of a culture of accessibility, social justice, messaging and making people feel welcome. Aakash Odedra Company is a Curve Associate at Curve Leicester and a Hippodrome Associate at Birmingham Hippodrome. Aakash Odedra Company is a National Partner Organisation of Sadler’s Wells and one of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisation.

3. Aakash Odedra was born in Birmingham, UK and lives in Leicester. He is a globally recognised and award-winning dancer and choreographer. He trained in bharatanatyam and kathak, then moved to India as a student of the renowned Bollywood choreographer Shiamak Davar. Aakash Odedra’s work forms the heart of the company and as a soloist he has performed over 300 full length performances in 40 countries in the past decade. His choreography pushes boundaries, responding to and drawing inspiration from contemporary issues. As a British-Asian, Aakash Odedra uses his voice to translate ancient and contemporary movement languages to tell new stories. Awards include the Amnesty International Award for Freedom of Expression; Best Dance at the Eastern Eye ACTA Awards 2018; a nomination for Best Stage Production at the 2019 Asian Media Awards for #JeSuis; and in 2021, Aakash was a awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for his services to dance. Notable commissions include James Brown: Get on the Good Foot (Apollo Theater, NY). In 2017 Aakash choreographed the Royal Opera House production Sukanya composed by the late great Pt Ravi Shankar and was movement director for Curve Theatre’s Pink Sari Revolution. As a solo performer his awards include: Danza&Danza award (Italy); Dora performance award (Canada); Audience Award Dance Week (Croatia); Infant Award (Serbia); Bessie Award New York (Best Male Performer); and a Sky Academy Arts Scholarship.

4. Hu Shenyuan is an independent dancer and choreographer. He graduated from the Dance Academy of Central MinZu University before working in Beijing for LDTX Dance Company from 2012 to 2014. As a dancer, he played Yu Ji in Yang Liping’s dance work Under Siege to great public acclaim. In 2017, Hu became the first young artist supported by Yang Liping Art Foundation, created his work Roving and established his studio Hu-Hu Dance. Hu’s choreographic works include Roving, The Moonlight Rainbow, So Close, With, ID, Ego, and Super-Ego and The Flower of Freedom. Several of his creations have been selected for the exhibition unit of the China Youth Dance Talents Training Program. His many awards include Best Performance Award at the 4th Beijing International Ballet and Choreography Competition; the Silver Award from the 16th Italian Rome International Choreography Competition and the Jury Chairman’s Award at the 15th Seoul International Dance Competition in 2018.

5. The Bagri Foundation is a UK registered charity whose main mission is to realise unique, unexpected ideas from and on Asia, weaving traditional culture with contemporary thinking. The Foundation provides support towards artistic and educational projects and establishes collaborative partnerships with institutions that range in scale—from small cultural organisations that share our ethos and mission to large national and international partners like the British Museum and Hayward Gallery in London, Artes Mundi Prize in Cardiff, The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York, and La Biennale di Venezia. The Foundation’s supported projects include film, visual arts, music, literature, courses and lectures, and each of them aims at giving artists and experts from across Asia and the diaspora, or those inspired by the continent, wider visibility on the global stage. https://bagrifoundation.org/

Photo credit: Chris Nash