Spring tour dates have been announced for Aakash Odedra Company’s (AOC) political work, #JeSuis. The physical performance explores oppression and the collective response from Turkish dancers who felt a misinterpretation of their country.
The performance will begin its tour around the UK in Leicester at the Peepul Centre on 9 May till 21 May in Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury.
Based in the Leicester, AOC aims to deliver creative experiences for audiences and participants to help create a society that is happy and healthy through dance and the arts. The dance company uses a selection of forms including contemporary, Bollywood, jazz and Kathak.
Performed by seven dancers from Turkey, #JeSuis is a tribute to all the people who have not had their stories ‘hashtagged’ and their freedom of movement, speech, religion or liberty remains at stake. The musical score is composed by long-term Aakash Odedra collaborator Nicki Wells, with dramaturgy from Lou Cope and lighting design by Alessandro Barbieri.
Naomi McAuliffe, Amnesty International’s Scotland programme director said, “#JeSuis is a powerful wake-up call to everyone on the climate of violence and oppression that people in Turkey are currently enduring. A production addressing freedom of expression in Turkey is particularly resonant for us as an organisation.”
#JeSuis had preview performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017 where it won the Amnesty Intentional Freedom of Expression Award and in June 2018 it won the Eastern Eye ACTA Dance Award.