CHI UDAKA
Moving and memorable, a masterful work of beauty and power
KATIE LAVERS
Arts Hub - JUNE 27 2016
Chi Udaka is an experience, an emotion. How do you explain it when varied cultures hold a conversation so sublime, so intense that the lines blur and they become a seamless whole? . . . .
SUBHA J RAO
Metro Plus- Chennai NOVEMBER 21 2016
Chi Udaka: A spectacle in sensuality
S.B. Vijaya Mary
The Hindu- DECEMBER 4 2016
We are bringing our exquisite production Chi Udaka to Singapore, to be presented at the 2024 Kalaa Utsavam Festival, on the 23rd & 24th of November, at the Esplanade.
It was around 2010 that I approached Ian Cleworth, Artistic Director Taikoz, regarding a possible collaboration between Taikoz, Riley Lee and Lingalayam. Post the initial bewilderment of trying to fathom how classical Indian dance and taiko drums would merge, followed by the writing of grants to create this innovative work, Chi Udaka finally had its premiere at the 2014 Sydney Festival, to magnificent reviews.
In 2016 Chi Udaka embarked on a highly successful Australian National Tour and an International tour to India, followed by Asia TOPA in 2020. But the icing on the cake was being invited to do a short (sold-out) season for the Sydney Opera House’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations in October 2023.
It was to the opening night of the Sydney Opera House season that Rajeswari Ramachandran a producer with the Esplanade, flew down to see Chi Udaka, and to our absolute delight
the invitation to perform at the 2024 Kalaa Utsavam - Indian Festival of Arts, followed.
Chi-Earth and Udaka-Water unites the taiko drums of Taikoz, Riley Lee on shakuhachi, John Napier on cello, the Carnatic vocals of Namrata Pulapaka, with the classical Indian dance idiom of Lingalayam.
This exciting work of dance and music reflects the traditional elements of solidity, fluidity and differentiation that shape and form the world, creating constant forces of movement vocabulary.
A perfect partnership between two mirror companies, whose very practice of music and dance though steeped in its traditional roots has emerged with a new voice, a language that respectfully acknowledges and encompasses the land of its birth, but resonates with a truth that has found a rebirth within the multi-faceted cultures of Australia.
Chi Udaka is a work of legacy, integrity and joy. Please come, fill the Singtel Waterfront Theatre with your presence and celebrate the Indian Festival of Arts with us.
