Photographer: Sean Goldhtorpe
As I squeezed past early arrivals to find my seat it was pleasing to note that, despite a cold, rainy night, the Lakeside Arts Theatre was full for Aakash Odedra’s second visit to Nottingham. His first was in 2013 as an accomplished Kathak dancer and rising star, performing works by an impressive collection of choreographers: Akram Khan, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Russell Maliphant.
This time he brought two very personal works – Inked, inspired by his late grandmother’s tattoos, and Murmur, about his struggle with dyslexia.
The single empty seat directly in front of me was a mystery. But what a bonus to have an even better view, I thought, taking in the sinister looking, larger-than-life human shadow at the back of the otherwise empty stage. As it turned out, there was a very good reason for the empty seat. Halfway through the performance, as jet-black ink flew towards me in a perfect arc, that reason became crystal clear: it splashed centimetres from my feet.
Choreographed by Belgian artist Damian Jalet, Inked explores the mystery and cultural significance of tattoos. Themes include possession, fear and transformation and, having emerged clean from that imposing shadow, the more he moves, the more he begins to ink himself. Each addition seems to bring out a new set of movements and one particularly clever metamorphosis takes place just before the ink begins to fly.
Following a relatively short break, during which we were ushered out of the auditorium while the clean up and set change took place, Murmur began, and it balanced Inked perfectly.
Photographer: Sean Goldhtorpe
Where Inked dealt primarily with darkness and intrigue, Murmur, a collaboration between Odedra and Australian choreographer Lewis Major, offered light and taught us something about Odedra himself.
This work was striking not only for the beautiful choreography but for the lighting, sound, visual effects, and acting, too. It’s also where the ‘Company’ comes into play. Nothing is recorded. The technology responds in real time as light traces the outline of Odedra’s body behind the near-transparent white curtains hanging from the ceiling.
It’s a moving piece in which Odedra shares the humiliation, frustration and alienation he felt as a child. He reveals that until the age of 21 he had even spelled his own first name incorrectly, missing out the second ‘a’. Finding that ‘a’, he said, brought a sense of control. Later, we hear his distress as he loses it once more amidst a cloud of whirling paper descending piece by piece from the sky. We feel his isolation as he attempts to read a book but is thwarted by the words swirling straight out of it and around the stage in a jumble of light and sound. It is truly affecting.
Odedra has taken a brave step with Inked and Murmur by presenting his own contemporary style of Kathak. The most noticeable difference from the traditional form of this Indian classical dance is the absence of bells around the ankles and wrists. In the post show discussion, Odedra told us that this is part of his attempt to make Kathak accessible to a new audience. ‘It was traditionally performed for royalty in the courts,’ he said, ‘but we’re not there now; it’s important to move things forward and make it relevant to pass on to a new generation.’
When asked what his Kathak teachers think of this, he said they are supportive. Speaking passionately about the cultural importance of Kathak, and sharing that he is still closely in touch with his teachers on a regular basis, ‘at least two long phone calls a week, maybe four texts,’ he also managed to teach us something about the deep connection felt by many who teach and perform it.
Aakash Odedra Company performed at Lakeside Arts Theatre on Tuesday 27 January 2015.
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