‘Songs of the Bulbul’ – Aakash Odedra’s most personal dance piece comes to the capital
One of the country’s foremost Indian classical dancers comes with a new work that is widely regarded as unique and exquisite…
DESCRIBED as both ferocious and contemplative, dancer-choreographer Aakash Odedra’s very latest work, ‘Songs of the Bulbul’ comes to London for the very first time this week.
Playing at Sadler’s Wells East from Thursday (July 17) for till Saturday, it is an award winning piece and widely acclaimed by all who have seen it.
Odedra talked about its origins and inspirations in a video interview out on (See below and subscribe to our YouTube channel).
This is a virtuoso solo that is referred to as “transcendent” and contains music composition by composer and musician Rushil Ranjan, now an associate artist at the Royal Albert Hall and Kathak Sufi dance supremo, the Delhi based Rani Khanam. In our interview, Odedra talks about how the collaboration came about.
First premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival (in August) 2024 it was named this festival’s – different to the more eponymous Edinburgh Fringe – Best Show by The List, a Scotland focused arts and entertainment guide.
Khanam is from the Lucknow gharana (a school, that has a long and illustrious history of producing Indian classical musicians).
She has developed a ‘new’ art form in some senses as her choreography is rooted in the Indian classical dance form of Kathak and is then further explored through her Sufi Muslim background and learning.
Working extensively with musicians, singers and dancers from across the Islamic world, she has developed a dance style for this unique piece – which is a common tale in the Middle East – that of the bulbul or nightingale whose melodious tunes become yet more beautiful in relation to its “training” as Odedra describes it in our interview – or its physical suffering which begins with its capture and caging.
Ranjan may not need too much introduction to avid followers of www.asianculturevulture.com – his interview on our Youtube channel is the longest we have ever published (26.40 minutes – see link below) and is merited by his talent and arrival as an artist attached to one of the country’s leading institutions.
Along with his wife and creative partner Abi Sampa, the two associate artists, have done much to popularise and further extend the scope of Qawwali – another unique art form that sees classical Urdu poetry turned into lyrics and songs. It was first popularised in the West by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1948-1997) – who became a titan of the World Music scene.
Ranjan also cites the source of his inspiration as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and today several branches of this singer’s family continue to perform globally and draw huge audiences.
The music for ‘Songs of the Bulbul’ has been recorded by Manchester Camerata (a mini-orchestra).
‘Songs of the Bulbul’ is produced by Odedra’s own dance outfit, Aakash Odedra Company (AOC).
A spokeswoman for AOC said: “Songs of the bulbul lays bare Odedra’s personal and spiritual dance landscape on stage.”
Odedra dedicates it to his late mother who committed suicide in 2020 and speaks about this in our interview.
The spokeswoman added: “This is exquisite storytelling. The choreography features expressive hand gestures and flowing lines through space. Ranjan is renowned for his distinctive ability to bring together Indian classical and western classical traditions.
“Together they, Odedra, Ranjan and Khanam tell an ancient Sufi myth about the bulbul, a Persian nightingale, a symbol of the beauty of the natural world and the pursuit of religious enlightenment, which, when captured, sings a glorious tune. The song reaches an inexpressibly beautiful pitch in the moments before it perishes from despair.”
Main picture: Songs of the Bulbul by Kuldeep Goswami
Listing
Songs of the Bulbul, (Thursday July 17-19)
Stratford Walk, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London E20 2AR
https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/aakash-odedra-songs-of-the-bulbul/
Previously
Aakash Odedra on www.asianculturevulture.com
