Jo Turbitt reviews a piece that's 'expertly simple and yet crafted with complexity'.
Samsara is a sensual and sensory duet performed with strength, simplicity and tenderness. Aakash Odedra Company's piece episodically explores the discourse between two cultures, moving through a series of conceptual ideas accompanied by a soundscape that is both haunting and full of vigour.
As the figures moved through the space, deities, susurrus sands and mesmerising chanting transported me to a remote temple in the Himalayas where reflection, contemplation and peace can be found--if given an opportunity to sit still and think.
Samsara offers that space. The stillness one finds when watching and listening to sand pour onto the stage--as two bodies whirl, glide, sweep and spin through it--is enchanting: it’s also a theatrical climax that dreams are made of. Expertly simple and yet crafted with complexity, the physical articulation and manipulation that both performers had was mesmerising: their movements held heritage, mastery and connection to their two cultures while the intertwining collaborative conversation between dance and rhythm created harmony whilst celebrating diversity.
Part of the Edinburgh International Festival. Its run has completed.
RSS