Aakash Odedra Company's New Dance Work SAMSARA is Coming to Birmingham Hippodrome This Month

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*

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