NEWS: Samsara @ Northern Stage

Image: Samsara by Aakash Odedra Company, Dancers Aakash Odedra and Hu Shenyuan, photo by Nirvair Singh Rai

Samsara: the circle of life without beginning or end. The never-ending wheel of life: birth, everyday life, death and re-birth. Never without suffering.

Drawing on the thinking and imagery of Samsara at the heart of Buddhist philosophy, Aakash Odedra Company and Bagri Foundation invite you to enter the world of Samsara. Two extraordinary dancers Aakash Odedra (UK/India) and Hu Shenyuan (China) use their disciplines of Kathak, Chinese folk, ballet and contemporary dance to explore this important Buddhist notion of our very existence.

Inspired too by the classic Chinese novel Journey To The West, this spellbinding performance traces the steps we take, both forward and backward, in search of our higher selves. It’s a compelling journey of self-development, as fear and love trace a path across the stage, across lands and through time.

Co-presented with Dance City and Gem Arts, this thoughtful work merges mythological storytelling with a depth of personal experience from the two globally opposite perspectives of the dancers.

A seductive, astonishing journey that explores in such a beautiful way the compelling idea that if we let all attachments go and allow the light in, we may ultimately find a place of truth and peace. We may glimpse that place in this performance.

Samsara is performed at Northern Stage, Newcastle on Friday 14^th October.