ROOTS - 5-day Intensive Dance Program

10th - 14th Feburary 2025 at Birmingham Hippodrome

View the FULL schedule on our website through . (Please note schedule subject to minor changes)

If you would prefer paying for your ticket in 3 parts, you can do that now by booking through a payment plan .

ROOTS is a dynamic, 5-day dance intensive curated by Aakash Odedra to support early and mid-career dancers through a blend of teaching, learning, and performing. Designed to meet industry demands, ROOTS equips dancers with tools and inspiration to elevate their career.

Participants learn from renowned artists, including Aakash Odedra, Alleyne Dance, Akram Khan Company and Ahmed Khemis Company, and engage in masterclasses led by key industry figures such as Eva Martinez (Sadler’s Wells), poet Sabrina Mahfouz, Skinder Hundal (British Council), and Alistair Spalding (Sadler’s Wells). For just £250, dancers receive comprehensive, industry-led training that encourages them to find their unique artistic paths and build a supportive network with fellow dancers.

This invaluable experience combines practical skills, career insights, and performance opportunities, providing the confidence and connections needed to make a lasting impact in the dance world.

If you have any questions or queries, please email [email protected]

Akram Khan Company - Photo credits Jean-Louis Fernandez

Aakash Odedra is a dancer, choreographer and teacher. He was born in Birmingham, UK, and trained in the classical Indian dance styles of Kathak under Shiamak Davar, Mumbai (Nilima Devi, Leicester and Asha Joglekar, India) and Bharatanatyam (Chitraleka Bolar, Birmingham and Chhaya Kantaveh, India). Aakash formed Aakash Odedra Company in 2011 as a vehicle for commissioning solos and to develop his own choreographic work, and as a soloist has performed over 300 full length performances in 40 countries in the past decade.

Beginning with a warm-up developed through AKC’s movement vocabulary, participants will be able to explore their own creativity through exercises and tasks focusing on rhythm, speed, cycles and silence. The workshop will develop into learning choreographic phrases from Akram Khan Company repertoire.

Award-winning Alleyne Dance is a unique and powerful company that blends Caribbean, Hip Hop and Kathak, within a contemporary dance context. The choreographic language focuses on rhythms and textures with movement that is athletic, fast paced and dynamic, with infusions of lyrical and fluid motion.

During the ROOTS Intensive programme, Ahmed Khemis will lead two days of sharing focused on contemporary dance, enriched by his influences in hip-hop, traditional Tunisian and Algerian dances, African dance, and collaborations with various choreographers.

The workshops will explore:
- Contemporary technique combined with grounded and organic movements.
- Improvisation as a tool to express identity and develop a personal movement language.
- The fusion of styles through excerpts from my repertoire.
- Physical theatre and stage presence to tell authentic stories.

These sessions will provide a space for exchange, creativity, and exploration, allowing each participant to express themselves fully.