Dance production focuses on lives lived in conflict

Aakash Odedra Company’s JeSuis (Photo: Sean Goldthorpe)

When: 7th – 26th November 2018

Where: London, Nottingham, Aberystwyth and Salford

£: Ticket prices vary, depending on the venue

What is it?

Choreographer and performer Aakash Odedra has created his first company work, with seven dancers from Turkey.

A powerful physical exploration of oppression in all its guises, layers and contexts, #JeSuis has its London premiere at the Lilian Baylis Studio at Sadler’s Wells on 7th and 8th November.

#JeSuis has been several years in the making.  Odedra first met the dancers in 2012 when he taught a workshop at Mimar Sinan University, Istanbul. It was their collective responses to the widespread misinterpretations of their country which inspired him to create the piece.

Wrapped up in ideas around displacement, refuge and instability, #JeSuis portrays the frustrations of lives lived in conflict, a homeland that no longer knows the meaning of ‘home’, living somewhere where freedoms and choices are a luxury and the main hope is to stay safe.

#JeSuis also looks at the role of the media in dictating the stories we see. While #JeSuisCharlie brought solidarity and comfort to a world grieving the horrific attacks in Paris in 2015, other equally appalling attacks took place in Kabul and Istanbul but failed to capture the attention in quite the same way. #JeSuis acknowledges that some acts of oppression are more loudly heard and deeply felt than others.

The dancers are Gizem Aksu, Yasin Anar, Evrim Akyay, Taner Güngör, Su Güzey, Beril Şenöz and Melissa Ugolini.

Preview performances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017 won the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award and in June 2018 it won the Eastern Eye ACTA Dance Award. The world premiere took place at the New York University Abu Dhabi in February of this year.

#JeSuis, a powerful physical exploration of oppression in all its guises

The #JeSuis tour dates:
7th & 8th November at Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells in London
Tickets cost £17 (concessions available)

17th November at artsdepot, Finchley in London
Tickets cost £11-£16 (concessions available)

20th November at Lakeside Arts, Nottingham
Tickets cost £18 (£16 for concessions)

24th November at Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth
Tickets cost £12 (£10 for concessions)

26th November at The Lowry, Salford
Tickets cost £14-£18 (concessions available)

More info: www.aakashodedra.co.uk