Songs of the Bulbul at Sadler's Wells East

Songs of the Bulbul, a new dance work by Aakash Odedra with choreography by Rani Khanam and music by Rushil Ranjan, is inspired by the ancient Sufi myth of a bulbul captured and held in captivity. The bird was bound ever closer and slowly perished through despair, singing more sweetly as its end drew nearer, until it uttered one final, heartbreaking and piercingly beautiful song just before it departed the mortal world. Thus ended the journey of the mythical bird, a tale of beauty born of loss and of freedom found only in the ultimate sacrifice. The beauty of this songbird’s melody serves as a metaphor for the fleeting moments of dance and an artist’s life. Rooted in the expansive music, dance, and poetry traditions of Sufism, this new work by two of the most outstanding Sufi Kathak artists performing in the world today emerges as a sensitive dialogue between the ferocious physicality of Kathak and the spiritual journey of Sufism, a path seeking unity with the Divine.

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