“The idea of having mass bodies performing in a ritualistic way, in different locations, reflects a beautiful part of where we have evolved to today.”
– Akram

Created in collaboration with 14-18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary, Edinburgh International Festival, Théâtre du Châtelet and Théâtre de la Ville, Kadamati brought together communities of all backgrounds and abilities to experience a collective creative process across two major European cities, Edinburgh and Paris.

Kadamati was a free outdoor mass performance that gave the opportunity for hundreds of dancers to perform Akram’s choreography and celebrate the diversity and unity of the 21st-century people. Marking the centenary of the final year of the First World War, this profound and moving piece drew on themes of identity, migration, and hope, with the support of the powerfully epic music by Nitin Sawhney.

At once spiritual and universal, Kadamati – meaning ‘clay’ in Bengali – conjures up the idea that we are somehow all connected, and it is vital to return to the essence of the ritual and the body as part of a unified movement.

The work was performed at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, during the Edinburgh International Culture Summit, on 22 August 2018. Paris brought 713 dancers together in the forecourt of Parvis de l’hotel de Ville for their performances on 9 September 2018.