#JeSuis from choreographer Aakash Odedra has its UK première at the Patrick Centre, Birmingham on 15 and 16 February 2018 following its world première at the Arts Centre of New York University Abu Dhabi a week earlier.
Odedra has been working with seven dancers from Turkey over the past two years and their collective responses to the misinterpretations of their country inspired him in his creation of #JeSuis about lives in conflict and how the media dictates the stories we see.
Previews of #JeSuis at Edinburgh Festival Fringe won the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award 2017. Naomi McAuliffe, Amnesty'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 as our colleagues from Amnesty International Turkey are currently languishing in gaol.”
The dancers are Gizem Aksu, Yasin Anar, Evrim Akyay, Taner Güngör, Su Güzey, Beril Şenöz and Melissa Ugolini. The musical score is by Odedra’s long-term collaborator Nicki Wells. Dramaturgy is by Lou Cope and lighting design by Alessandro Barbieri.