Aakash Odedra is a Leicester-based artist, celebrated as one of the UK’s most prolific and innovative performers. He creates and performs award-winning classical and contemporary dance works that tour internationally. He is widely regarded as one of the leading kathak dancers of his generation and has been hailed as “the living bridge between India and the United Kingdom”. His work is inspired by both ancient and modern stories and culture and is made with humanity, spirituality and soul.
Aakash’s career is defined by a spirit of collaboration and a commitment to transcending artistic boundaries. He has forged partnerships with leading venues, visionary choreographers, and exceptional dancers and musicians worldwide, including working with Ravi Shankar in Shankar’s final show at the Royal Opera House. Other recent collaborators include Aditi Mangaldas, Akram Khan, Damien Jalet, Fabiana Piccioli, Sabrina Mahfouz, Rani Khanam and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. As a choreographer, Aakash’s commissions include James Brown: Get on the Good Foot (Apollo Theater, New York), God’s Little Soldier (Theater Freiburg), the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, and the closing of the London Cultural Olympiad.
He has choreographed for and performed in the most prestigious halls in the world: including the Royal Albert Hall, the Lincoln Center, Symphony Hall Birmingham and the Royal Ballet. His celebrated works such as Songs of the Bulbul, Mehek, Samsara, Inked, Echoes, Murmur, and Rising are known for their innovative fusions and cross-cultural dialogues, exploring themes of spirituality, love, loss, and deepening our understanding of the human condition, the planet, and our connection with nature and spirituality.
Born in Birmingham, UK, Aakash Odedra’s journey from prodigious dance student to internationally acclaimed choreographer began with early support from Sampad and Akademi. He received foundational training in Kathak and Bharatanatyam under revered gurus Nilima Devi, Chitralekha Bolar, Chhaya Kantaveh, and Asha Joglekar in both the UK and India. At age 15, Odedra moved to Mumbai, where he trained with Bollywood legend Shiamak Davar, invigorating his passion for dance and maturing his artistry. His unique synthesis of classical Indian and contemporary dance was further shaped by mentorship from Akram Khan and participation in international choreographic labs.
Aakash has cemented his reputation as a transformative force in contemporary dance and his creative works have won multiple awards around the world, including Best Show of Edinburgh International Festival 2024; UK Theatre Award for Dance; Amnesty International Award for Freedom of Expression; the Eastern Eye ACTA Award; a Sky Academy Arts Scholarship and multiple Jacob’s Pillow residencies. Furthermore, his performances have led him to win Best Male Dancer Awards globally including in New York (Bessie Award); Canada (Dora Award); Italy (Danza e Danza); Croatia and Serbia.
In 2025, he was voted Best Male Dancer at the UK National Dance Awards and also won Best Male Classical Performance: the first ever time this award has been given to a non-ballet performance. In 2021 he won a British Empire Medal for services to dance and in 2025 he was announced as an associate artist of Sadlers Wells.
