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Aakash Odedra. Pictures: Angela Grabowska Songs of the BulBul Birmingham Hippodrome ***** Birmingham born international dance star Aakash Odedra creates one of those rare moments when you are drawn into an ethereal world of light, sound and dance, a world full of emotion, full of feeling, joy, sadness, despair and hope . . . This is a remarkable piece, a solo performance of almost an hour, a feat of stamina in itself, which combines the Northern Indian classical dance tradition of Kathak with the Sufi myth of the BulBul, the BulBul being the nightingale which is almost revered in Persian Culture. Kathak, incidentally, comes from the Sanskrit words for storyteller, which is what Odedra does quite beautifully. The story is both sad and uplifting and tells of the BulBul whose song is painfully beautiful. The bird is captured and trained. It is at first caged and sings about its longing to escape, then kept in the dark, singing for light, then bound and sings to be released, its song becoming more emotional and beautiful each time until finally it is blinded and sings in despair, singing one last heartbreakingly beautiful song as it finds freedom in death.
Odedra whirls, swirls, uses his hands like wings, telling the story of the life . . . and death of the BulBul in exquisite dance. It might be a solo performance, but Odedra is not the only star. The set from Sicilian Emanuele Salamanca creates a space that helps tell the story. There is a crescent of more than 60 of what appear to be candles stage right, which are given a life of their own through the lighting wizardry of Rome born Fabiana Piccioli. The set has what appear to be stalactites hanging down at the stage left rear, three of which eventually drop with an ominous thud to create the cage to incarcerate the BulBul. The stage is covered in red rose petals, with more falling at intervals, part of the Persian tradition, the nightingale songs directed at the rose with red roses the symbols of love and beauty. The lighting ranges from warm sunlit scenes to harsh, piercing white pencils picking out Odedra like searchlights, there are moments of chaos and implied violence with strobe lighting and magical moments as Odedra plays with the bank of candles in waves and sections. And behind it all is Rushil Ranjan’s magnificent score, played by the Manchester Camerata with its 60 strong orchestra conducted by Melvin Tay Ranjan has Asian melodies mixed with sweeping orchestral movements that would not be out of place in cinema, all with a recurring theme, the theme of the BulBul. The music stands on its own but combined with Odedra’s superb solo performance it helps create magic which transcends cultures, this is storytelling through dance, universal, pure and simple. Adding to the narrative are the costumes from Kanika Thakur which starts as a billowing white skirt which flows and flies as Odedra dances, creating waves to waft the rose petals around the stage and as the end approaches for the BulBul the skirt vanishes to leave a gossamer thin cloak which floats and envolops the fading life of the BulBul as it seeks release. Odedra has worked closely with internationally renowned Indian dancer and choreographer Rani Khanam and freely admits that this piece is more than just a dance, it is both personal and professional, a tribute to his mother, Kay, who died last year “my smiling BulBul who left her cage”, and the personal aspect shows in the intensity and emotion he displays in the dance. This is the start of the 11 venue tour which ends at Sadler’s Wells in July and is the first solo dance by Hippodrome Associate Odedra since the piece won Best Show Edinburgh International Festival eight months ago. On 6 May, when the show appears at The Lowry in Manchester, Odedra will perform the piece with the 60-strong Manchester Camerata live, which will add yet another element to this wonderful show. Songs of the BulBul is at the Patrick Centre to 10-04-25 Roger Clarke 08-04-25 |
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