World Première Stuttgart, 13 July 2019

AKRAM KHAN COMPANY

“As I arrive at the end of my dancing career, I have awakened to a new way of dancing. And that is to dance my ideas through the bodies of others, including older dancers, who carry their histories and complex emotional experiences within them. But what remains unchanged is my passion for exploring old and new myths in the context of our times.”

One of the seeds of inspiration for Outwitting the Devil is Leonardo Da Vinci’s iconic mural of The Last Supper. Thisimage has haunted me since I rst laid eyes on it as a child.

As a young British Bangladeshi boy growing up in South London, I remember seeing The Last Supper on a printed A4 page in my art class. I was told it was one of the most famous paintings in the world, and was asked to draw my own version of it. I now realise that at the time I was uncomfortable and confused by the depiction. I could not see anything of myself in it, or of the culture and religion I grew up in. It was foreign to me. Or perhaps, I was foreignto it. It did not re ect me, or the people in my street – who came from many different cultures – in any way I couldrelate to.

Many years later, I stumbled across another version of The Last Supper, by Australian artist Susan Dorothea White. White’s work was titled The First Supper. The painting portrays 13 women from all regions of the world. The gurein the position of Leonardo’s Christ is an Aboriginal woman, and the only white woman in the painting sits in the same position as Judas, the betrayer.

This radical interpretation astonished me, and gave me permission to free myself from the classical version. And in this new, anti-colonial depiction, I recognised an artist’s journey and challenge to convention which was parallel to my own. Ever since I entered the classical Indian dance world, I have been searching for a way out.... or perhaps more truly, I was searching for a new way in.

– Akram Khan, August 2018

Artistic team & credits
Artistic Director/Choreographer Akram Khan

Dramaturg Ruth Little
Lighting Designer Aideen Malone
Visual Designer Tom Scutt
Original Music Score and Sound Design Vincenzo LamagnaCostume Designer Kimie Nakano
Writer Jordan Tannahill
Rehearsal Director Mavin Khoo

Dancers Ching-Ying Chien, Andrew Pan, Dominique Petit, James Pham, Mythili Prakash, Sam Pratt

Producer Farooq Chaudhry
Technical Manager Tina FaganProduction Manager Florian StaglianoProject/Tour Manager Mashitah Omar

Supported by Arts Council England
Akram Khan is an Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells London and Curve Leicester.

Technical Requirements

Playing Area 12m x 12m

Trim Height 8m

Dimmers 

120 minimum

NO RAKE

Akram Khan

Artistic Director/Choreographer

Akram Khan is one of the most celebrated and respected dance artists today. In just over 18 years he has createda body of work that has contributed signi cantly to the arts in the UK and abroad. His reputation has been built onthe success of imaginative, highly accessible and relevant productions such as Until the Lions, Kaash, iTMOi (in the mind of igor), DESH, Vertical Road, Gnosis and zero degrees.

An instinctive and natural collaborator, Khan has been a magnet to world-class artists from other cultures anddisciplines. His previous collaborators include the National Ballet of China, actress Juliette Binoche, ballerinaSylvie Guillem, choreographers/dancers Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Israel Galván, singer Kylie Minogue, visual artistsAnish Kapoor, Antony Gormley and Tim Yip, writer Hanif Kureishi and composers Steve Reich, Nitin Sawhney,Jocelyn Pook and Ben Frost.

Khan’s work is recognised as being profoundly moving, in which his intelligently crafted storytelling is effortlessly intimate and epic. Described by the Financial Times as an artist “who speaks tremendously of tremendous things”, a highlight of his career was the creation of a section of the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony that was received with unanimous acclaim.

As a choreographer, Khan has developed a close collaboration with English National Ballet and its Artistic DirectorTamara Rojo. He created the short piece Dust, part of the Lest We Forget programme, which led to an invitation to create his own critically acclaimed version of the iconic romantic ballet Giselle.

Khan has been the recipient of numerous awards throughout his career including the Laurence Olivier Award, the Bessie Award (New York Dance and Performance Award), the prestigious ISPA (International Society for thePerforming Arts) Distinguished Artist Award, the Fred and Adele Astaire Award, the Herald Archangel Award atthe Edinburgh International Festival, the South Bank Sky Arts Award and six Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards.Khan was awarded an MBE for services to dance in 2005. He is also an Honorary Graduate of University of London as well as Roehampton and De Montfort Universities, and an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Laban.

Khan is an Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells, London and Curve, Leicester.

Ruth Little

Dramaturg

Ruth Little is a dance and theatre dramaturg, a teacher and writer. Her work has encompassed national arts organisations, remote rural communities, site-speci c production and large and small-scale exhibitions and expeditions. She lectured in English Literature at the University of Sydney, and was Literary Manager at Out ofJoint, Soho Theatre, the Young Vic and the Royal Court. Ruth was Associate Director at Cape Farewell from 2010- 2016. She is dramaturg with Akram Khan Company (Gnosis, Vertical Road, DESH, iTMOi, Dust, technê, Until the Lions, Giselle) and has worked with Banff Arts Centre, Sadler’s Wells, Barbican, and many others. Winner of 2012 Kenneth Tynan Award for dramaturgy, Ruth has a number of publications including Art, Place, Climate: Situated Ethics, War in the Body, and The Meteorological Body.

Aideen Malone

Lighting Designer

Aideen studied Drama and Theatre at Trinity College Dublin and Goldsmiths College, University of London. She works on a rich variety of projects in theatre, dance, opera, site speci c and installation. She has previously workedwith Akram Khan on Polaroid Feet and Kaash in 2002. In theatre, she has collaborated with National Theatre, BristolOld Vic, Lyric Hammersmith, Manchester Theatre Royal, Clod Ensemble, Young Vic, amongst many others. Aideenalso enjoys working with young people in education, and is currently a tutor at ALRA and St Marys, Twickenham. She is a director of Junction designing lighting sculptures and installations.

Tom Scutt

Visual Designer

Tom is a London-based Designer for the stage and live events. A graduate from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2006, he regularly works at most of London’s major theatres including The National Theatre, The Royal Court, Almeida and Donmar Warehouse. On Broadway, Tom has provided set & costume designs forConstellations, King Charles III and Les Liaisons Dangereuses. His work reaches across live music (Sam Smith/ Apple, MTV VMAs), dance (Hofesh Shechter - Grand Finale) and exhibition design (Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up at London’s V&A Museum). Tom is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, an Associate Artist of the Donmar Warehouse and a resident at Somerset House Studios.

Vincenzo Lamagna

Composer

Vincenzo Lamagna is a musician, composer and producer based in London. His music is known for its visceral,emotive and edgy language that utilises an unconventional hybrid of electro-orchestral sounds. Vincenzo has carved a niche in the alternative contemporary dance world, where he has established himself as a major collaboratorwith some of the most acclaimed choreographers of this generation, Hofesh Shechter and Akram Khan. His mostrecent collaborations include Until the Lions and Akram Khan’s award winning 21st-century adaptation of Gisellefor English National Ballet. His scores are a mercurial combination of acoustic and electronic music, recognisedfor their ferocious industrial undertones, haunted melodies and cinematic soundscapes.

Kimie Nakano

Costume Designer

Kimie Nakano has designed costumes for Northern Ballet, Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet, Royal DanishBallet, Companhia National de Bailado, English National Ballet, Van Huynh Company, The Royal Ballet of Flanders,Rambert Dance Company, David Nixon, Didy Veldman, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, José Agudo and Yabin Studio. Kimie’s opera production credits include: The Return of Ulysses by John Fulljames for Royal Opera and Tristan und Isoldeby Carmen Jakobi for Longborough Festival Opera. Her designs for Akram Khan Company include: Vertical Road,Dust (English National Ballet’s Lest We Forget), iTMOi, TOROBAKA, Gnosis, Kaash, The Rashomon Effect (National Youth Dance Company), technê (choreographed for Sylvie Guillem, Life in Progress).

Jordan Tannahill

Writer

Jordan Tannahill has been ‘widely celebrated as one of Canada’s most accomplished young playwrights, lm-makers and all-round multidisciplinary artists’ (Toronto Star). His plays have been produced on major stages internationally and translated into eight languages, while his lms and multimedia performances have beenpresented at festivals including the Toronto Int. Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival, and the Venice Biennial. In 2017, his play Late Company transferred to London’s West End. Upcoming: his virtual reality performance Draw Me Close, produced by the National Theatre (UK) and the National Film Board of Canada, will open at the Young

Vic in January 2019.

Mavin Khoo

Rehearsal Director

Mavin Khoo is internationally recognised as a dance artist, teacher, choreographer and artist scholar. His initial training was in Malaysia. He then pursued his training in Bharatanatyam intensively under the legendary dancemaestro Padma Shri Adyar K.Lakshman in India. As a contemporary dance artist, he has worked with WayneMcGregor, Akram Khan, Shobana Jeyasingh and many others. Khoo founded mavinkhooDance in 2003. He was Artistic Director of Ż nMalta Dance Ensemble between 2014 - 2017. He currently maintains his touring work as a mature artist with a focus on solo Bharatanatyam performances and speci cally commissioned contemporary duet works. He also worked as rehearsal director for Akram Khan Company production iTMOi and worked alongside Akram on Giselle (English National Ballet).

Ching-Ying Chien

Dancer

Ching-Ying Chien was born in Taiwan and graduated from the National Taiwan University of Arts. As well ascollaborating and creating work with a number of Taiwanese choreographers including Fang-Yi Sheu, Ching-Ying also worked as a physical model for Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang for his large-scale gunpowder on paper pieceDay and Night. She has worked with Akram Khan Company since 2013 and achieved the ‘Outstanding FemalePerformance (Modern)’ award at the UK National Dance Awards in 2016. In addition to performing on stage,Ching-Ying worked with director Adam Smith to shoot music videos for the likes of Plan B and The Chemical Brothers earlier this year. Most recently she has presented her solo Vulture in London and Taiwan.

Andrew Pan

Dancer

Andrew was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Studying at the Federal Academy of Ballet in Malaysia, he was offered a scholarship to study at the Central School of Ballet in London. During his second year at Central, Andrew guested at Dublin City Ballet, in Giselle dancing the part of ‘Peasant Pas De Deux’. After touring with Notre Dame de Parisfor 3 years, he spent 5 years in the Celine Dion’s show A New Day in Las Vegas. Throughout his career Andrew hasworked with different choreographers and directors, including: Jiri Kylian, Rui Horta, Itzik Galili, Richard Wherlock,Roberto Galvan, Mia Michaels, Karl Schreiner, Christian Spuck, Carlus Pardrissa, Johann Kresnik, Jean Renshaw, Philipp Stölzl.

Dominique Petit

Dancer

Dominique Petit’s career started in New York with Paul Sanasardo. Returning to France to join the Paris OperaTheater Research Group under the direction of Carolyn Carlson for four years, he went on to present his rst solo at Avignon Festival. His choreographic pieces have toured to major dance festivals in Europe, Asia and South America, including his most proli c works, Jade and Les tournesols. Before teaching full-time in the Conservatory of La Roche sur Yon, he spent seven years as a pedagogical coordinator of the CNDC of Angers. Dominique has developed an innovative improvisation technique and is regularly invited to facilitate masterclasses in major French institutions.

James Pham

Dancer

James has been working extensively with Chunky Move - Anouk Van Dijk since 2012. Beside his collaborations with Eastman, Royal Ballet of Flanders, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, Bayerische Staatsoper and Theater Basel, he has performed in Triumphs and Other Alternatives with Muscle Mouth and World of Wearable Art (2015).He was the lead role in Christophe Coppens’ Le Mandarin Merveilleux at La Monnaie. James received the ‘BestMale Dancer in a Dance or Physical Theatre Work’ 2014 Helpmann Award for his performance in 247 Days, and the Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer 2014 Australian Dance Award for AORTA. He has been studying Countertechnique intensively since 2012, and became a certi ed teacher in 2014.

Mythili Prakash

Dancer

Classically trained in the Indian dance form Bharatanatyam, Mythili Prakash was born in Los Angeles and grew up training with her mother/dancer Viji Prakash. Performing her solo debut at just eight years old, she has since presented her work world-wide. Mythili’s full length solos include: Stree Katha, Yamuna, Seasons of Love,Chandalika, AIKYA - through the voice of Akka Mahadevi and JWALA-Rising Flame. In 2009, she collaborated with musician Anoushka Shankar in Svatantrya, with writer/director Gowri Ramnarayan in Yashodhara in 2012 and her brother/musician Aditya Prakash in MARA in 2013. Mythili worked with Director Ang Lee in the lm Life of Pi and was featured on NBC’s Superstars of Dance.

Sam Pratt

Dancer

Sam Asa Pratt was born and raised in New York City and graduated from Bard College with degrees in Dance and Philosophy. Sam has performed with Kate Weare Company, David Dorfman Dance, Abraham in Motion,The Francesca Harper Project, and for the past two years has been a full-time company member in Punchdrunk’sNew York production of Sleep No More. Sam is co-founder/director of movement art company Baye & Asa (@bayeandasa) presenting live performance and lm work in NYC.

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TOROBAKA

AKRAM KHAN AND ISRAEL GALVÁN

Akram Khan

“His dancing is mercurial, his characters superbly realized.”

The Independent, UK

Israel Galván

“A dancer ahead of his time, that’s for sure, as no one has ever danced this way.” El País, Spain

“Torobaka is a cultural “dance collision” of traditional kathak and flamenco with the celebrated Israel Galvan and Akram Khan. While neither can be considered ‘pure’ in their approach, they are arguably the most charismatic performers of their chosen native dance forms, which are at once distinct and deeply historically linked.

Kathak and Flamenco come together on the same stage in a showcase of virtuosity.  With six musicians they will explore the similarities in their dance and, seeking to learn from each other, bring us a thrilling clash of cultures.

Created and Performed by

Israel Galván and Akram Khan

 

Music Arranged and Performed by

David Azurza, B C Manjunath or Bernhard Schimpelsberger, Bobote, Christine Leboutte

 

Lighting Designer

Michael Hulls

 

Costume Designer

Kimie Nakano

 

Sound

Pedro León

 

Rehearsal Director

Jose Agudo

 

Production Coordinator

Amapola López

 

Production Manager

Sander Loonen

 

Technical Coordinator

Pablo Pujol

Producers

Farooq Chaudhry & Bia Oliveira (Khan Chaudhry Productions) and

Chema Blanco & Cisco Casado (A Negro Producciones)

 

Co-produced by

MC2: Grenoble, Sadler’s Wells London, Mercat de les Flors Barcelona, Théâtre de la Ville Paris, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Festival Montpellier Danse 2015, Onassis Cultural Centre - Athens, Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay Singapore, Prakriti Foundation, Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam / Flamenco Biënnale Nederland, Concertgebouw Brugge, HELLERAU – European Center for the Arts Dresden, Festspielhaus St. Pölten, Romaeuropa Festival

 

Sponsored by COLAS

Produced during residency at Mercat de les Flors Barcelona and MC2: Grenoble

 

Supported by Arts Council England

Israel Galván is an Associate Artist of Théâtre de la Ville Paris and Mercat de les Flors Barcelona

Akram Khan is an Associate Artist of Sadler's Wells London, and formerly an associate artist of MC2: Grenoble (2011-2014) when TOROBAKA was created

World Premiere: MC2: Grenoble, France, 2 June 2014

Spanish Premiere: XXXI Festival de Otoño a Primavera, Madrid, 27 June 2014

UK Premiere: Sadler's Wells Theatre, London, 3 November 2014

Akram Khan; Israel Galván; Khan; Galván; the very euphony of their names sets the scene. Dance before it became art. This transition, this intermediary space, this interstice is where they operate.

This is not, of course, an ethnic exchange between traditions, an exercise in global dance. It is about creating something from a way of understanding dance – derived, certainly, from dancing kathak and flamenco – that harks back to the origins of voice and of gesture, before they began to produce meaning. Mimesis rather than mimicry.

The hunter, lost in the countryside, imitates the gait of the animal he has come to hunt. Words are yet to be defined, guttural sounds which are understood almost as if they were orders, acts of command. Every part of the body is expressive, movements are read, they have a function. Torobaka!

Nor is there any need for primitivism. In one of the rehearsals Khan and Galván grappled with Toto-vaca, a Maori-inspired phonetic poem by Tristan Tzara. It was automatic. The bull (toro) and the cow (vaca), sacred animals in the dancers’ two traditions, but united, profaned (in the original sense of the word, to restore things to their common use), in an unconstrained dadaist poem.

Israel Galván and Akram Khan. This is what it is about, dancing without compromise and for the audience to go on perceiving it as art. 

Pedro G. Romero, January 2014

Texts from Israel Galván and Akram Khan, May 2014

Master, you have shown us unfamiliar images and rhythms, a new world that I now recognise as kathak. There are poisons that heal, and kathak is one of these remedies. I have it nestled within my body.

Master, sometimes we must move forward, go faster and then stop suddenly. Gandhi, perhaps, knew that by standing still we more easily see the world than people who are always moving.

Master, I came prepared for a cockfight, the snake and the weasel, and we have become monks, two holy men in a secluded monastery of dance.

Master, I have found a brother, one and only, unique. Maybe people won't like our steps, but I have learnt so much. What matters is the process. I hope that each of our thousands of hours of rehearsals, and the work together, can be seen. I hope that all that we put into the show can be seen, and the rest too, all that we have removed. What is and what is not: everything is important.

—Israel Galván

Dancing beside Israel is like dancing next to a sublime storyteller of rhythms, not rhythms of the past, but rhythms of the future. I have gained so much insight into flamenco through Israel. He has opened my eyes into how and what is possible with flamenco: how one can deconstruct it, transform it and recreate it, in order to form new stories. After all, stories are what help us make sense of the world. 

I think the simplest way to describe our process together is to imagine if fragrance was created before the flower that contains it, that's how our ideas developed on this wonderful journey. At first we created smells, colours, sketches, then together, with the musicians, lighting designer, sound designer, costume designer, rehearsal director and many others, we finally encapsulated it in the body of a theme: TOROBAKA. 

—Akram Khan

Texts from Israel Galván and Akram Khan, early 2013 before starting the creation – first thoughts on what would become TOROBAKA

The Dancing Bodies of Anarchy

Tradition is like oxygen during the day, and during the night it is carbon dioxide. I would say that is the simplest way I could think of to illustrate what Israel and I do, with our respective traditions. For Israel, flamenco would be his tradition, and my oxygen would be kathak.

For many years now, I have been hungry to create a space where these respective traditions can co-exist with each other to create a new dynamic dance... But the reason I held back was simply because I was not excited to revisit what so many other artists before us have attempted, which is to simply illustrate a

connection between the two traditions.

How do we break the mould or the tradition from within? Only when I finally witnessed Israel perform, did I realize that he was the artist I was waiting for to travel on this journey of discovery and anarchy… (After all, anarchy is sometimes necessary to remind tradition to update itself.)

— Akram Khan

In Gestation

My mother danced in flamenco venues in Seville until the seventh month of her pregnancy. She was pregnant with me, I was inside.

I grew up dancing with my parents and I developed an almost religious respect towards flamenco.

I had a master whose name was Mario Maya. When I watched him for the first time I became completely amazed by new things that I had never contemplated before.

When I was training with Akram in Paris, he reminded me of my master. I asked Akram to choreograph some dance steps typical of my master. Akram picked up the steps perfectly, he felt confident with them and I could see a young Mario. The way Akram communicates whilst moving was very dear to me.

I dance barefoot but the borderline between us are my boots with toes and heels.

He told me once that when he dances, it is like giving a present to the audience. As a dancer I inherit the idea of killing the audience in order to avoid them killing me.

I think that Akram grew up believing in lots of gods. My family taught me to believe in one.

I would like to meet many of his gods and thank the audience while I dance.

— Israel Galván

iTMOi

AKRAM KHAN COMPANY

Available for touring in North America - 10 Oct – 16 Nov, 2014

Following its world premiere at MC2: Grenoble last Spring and a sold-out run at Sadler's Wells (London), Akram's latest creation iTMOi embarked on an international tour.

Celebrating Igor Stravinsky and his legendary Rite of Spring, the piece features an original score by Nitin Sawhney, Jocelyn Pook and Ben Frost, and Fabiana Piccioli has just won the Knight Of Illumination Award for Best Lighting Design in Dance.

Beside Grenoble and London, iTMOi has already been presented in Paris, Zagreb, Amsterdam, Vienna, Sydney, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Seville...

Press quotes:

“Wayward, passionate and captivating” - Metro UK (*****)

“65 exhilarating minutes of relentless terror and wonder; you’ve never seen anything like this” - Time Out Sydney (*****)

“Spellbinding” - The Times (****)

“Through Khan's shockingly imagined chaos we're drawn into the creative maelstrom from which art is born” - The Guardian (****)

Media

iTMOi Trailer With Akram from 2Luck Concepts on Vimeo.

Technical Rider

AKRAM KHAN COMPANY 19.06.2013

ITMOI

TECHNICAL RIDER

Update: June 19th

iTMOi tech rider June 19th 2013 (PDF Download)

The show contains: nudity, smoke, loud music

Press Quotes

Akram Khan Company

iTMOi

Press quotes

“65 exhilarating minutes of relentless terror and wonder; you’ve never seen anything like this”

“Theatre at its most electrifying”

iTMOi | Dee Jefferson, Time Out Sydney, Australia | 22 May 2013 | 

“Wayward, passionate and captivating”

“Khan at his most potent and unfettered”

“iTMOi turns the familiar into something entirely fresh and invigorating”

iTMOi | Keith Watson, Metro, UK | 31 May 2013 | 

“Spellbinding”

“A dazzling road trip into the creative imagination of one of our foremost dance artists”

“A 65-minute ride through a landscape of free association”

“iTMOi has fantastic thrust and excitement; at times it's a dreamy meditation, at others a regression to animalistic fundamentals”

iTMOi | Debra Craine, The Times, UK | 31 May 2013 | 

“Through Khan's shockingly imagined chaos we're drawn into the creative maelstrom from which art is born”

iTMOi | Judith Mackrell, The Guardian, UK | 31 May 2013 | 

“This is unlike anything ever made by Akram Khan before”

“My admiration is boundless for an artist that can change direction with such startling effect”

“A visual appeal that grabs hold of one’s imagination from the opening moment and never relents until the end”

iTMOi | Graham Watts, DanceTabs, UK | 31 May 2013

WINNER OF THE OLIVIER AWARDS IN THE CATEGORY BEST NEW DANCE PRODUCTION 2012

Available for limited touring in North America 

November/December 2014 and February 2015

 “Desh is a masterpiece, the best thing that he has ever done” – The Observer

“the most urgent, beautiful and confident work of his career” – The Guardian *****

“DESH is as transporting a piece of dance as I have ever seen. The first full-length solo contemporary work by Akram Khan - it is also his best show yet: poignant, thrilling, magical, moving and, throughout its perfectly judged 80 minutes, utterly transfixing.” – The Telegraph 

DESH, meaning homeland in Bengali, is a very personal work and to date it’s the most challenging and demanding of Khan’s project. Created after a year of intense research both in the UK and Bangladesh, and performed during the year Bangladesh celebrates 40 years of independence, DESH explores the idea of transformation of body, land, identity and memory, while examining the contradictions of Khan’s British-Asian identity. The artistic ambition for DESH is to produce a poetic and visual work that reflects the fragility, chaos and hope of the Bangladeshi society through Khan’s own body and voice. For this solo performance, he has teamed up with Oscar-winning Chinese visual artist Tim Yip (production designer for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), fellow Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist and lighting designer Michael Hulls, Indian writer and poet Karthika Nair and Olivier Award-winning composer Jocelyn Pook. 

 ‘Those transparent Dacca gauzes known as woven air, running water, evening dew.’ (Agha Shahid Ali)

Akram Khan Company is supported by COLAS.  Co-produced by MC2: Grenoble, Curve Leicester, Sadler’s Wells London, Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Concertgebouw Brugge. 

 

For more information: www.akramkhancompany.net

Media

DESH TRAILER from 2Luck Concepts on Vimeo.

Reviews

South China Morning Post 20 November 2011 by Natasha Rogai "powerful show which speaks to people of all ages and cultures" Review in pdf The Independent 10 October 2011 by Zoe Anderson "His dancing is mercurial, his characters superbly realised." (5*) The Independent 9 October 2011 by Jenny Gilbert "an enthralling journey to a young, imperilled land." The New York Times 7 October 2011 by Roslyn Sulcas "the best pieces that Mr. Khan has created." Daily Express 7 October 2011 by Neil Norman "vivid, humane and amazingly accessible exploration" Verdict: 4/5 Financial Times 6 October 2011 by Clement Crisp "dramatic honesty" (4*) Dance Magazine 6 October 2011 by Donald Hutera "Epic yet tellingly personal" The Arts Desk 6 October 2011 by Ismene Brown "Now when [Khan] dances, he doesn't just tell his own story - he tells all our stories." Evening Standard 5 October 2011 by Sarah Frater "technically ingenious, theatrically unsettling and emotionally unbearable" (4*) Daily Telegraph 5 October 2011 by Mark Monahan "best show yet... utterly transfixing." (5*) The Stage UK 05 October 2011 by Neil Norman "visually arresting and ultimately moving dance/drama that leaves you wanting more" The Times, UK 20 September 2011 by Debra Crane "mesmerising... the most extraordinary of collaborations" (****) The Observer, UK 17 September 2011 by Luke Jennings "A masterpiece, the choreographer's greatest show yet" Leicester Mercury 16 September 2011 by Louise Jenkins "thought provoking masterpiece" The Guardian, UK  16 September 2011 by Judith Mackrell "the most urgent, beautiful and confident work of his career" (*****) The Public Reviews (Website) 15 September 2011 by Farhana Shaikh "marvellous performance" Personal Review after watching DESH Preview 13 September 2011 by Anonymous Audience "I am not a bona fide critic, but...what Charlie Chaplin did for silent films in the 1920s, Akram Khan is doing for dance today. In an age of austerity, where our governments and corporations expect us to live in black and white, we get our fix of colour when we get to see wonderful creations like Desh. Best wishes..." BBC News, 8 September 2011 9 September 2011 by Jeff Russell "Akram is the king of contemporary dance, and if he played football, he would be Wayne Rooney."

DESH Technical Rider

DESH Technical Rider Sept 21st (PDF)

“Hugely inspiring and profoundly disturbing, terrible and beautiful at the same time.” The Stage - 17 Sept 2010

Akram Khan Dance Company journeys across boundaries to create uncompromising artistic narratives. It produces thoughtful, provocative and ambitious dance productions for the international stage. Akram Khan takes human themes and works with others to take them to new and unexpected places – embracing and working with other cultures and disciplines. The dance language in each production is rooted in Akram Khan’s classical Kathak and modern dance training and continually evolves to communicate ideas that are intelligent, courageous and new, bringing with it international acclaim and recognition as well as artistic and commercial success. Previous collaborators include the National Ballet of China, actress Juliette Binoche, ballerina Sylvie Guillem, choreographer/dancer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, singer Kylie Minogue, visual artists Anish Kapoor and Antony Gormley, writer Hanif Kureshi and composers Steve Reich and Nitin Sawhney. WARNING: Strobe Light, Smoke, Loud Sound - Duration: approximately 70 minutes with no interval “An evening of rare intelligence and artistry” Financial Times | 9 October 2010

Technical Requirements

Vertical Road Technical Rider (PDF) VERTICAL ROAD US TOUR October 2012 5 & 6 –Royce Hall, UCLA Live, Los Angeles, CA 10 – Irvine Barclay Theatre, Irvine, CA 12 – Mondavi Center, UC Davis, CA 14 – Granada Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA 17 – Arlene Schnitzer Theatre, Portland, OR 20 – Byham Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA 23 & 24 – The Rose Theatre, Lincoln Center, New York, NY

SYLVIE GUILLEM & AKRAM KHAN in SACRED MONSTERS

"Sacred Monsters" is a public dialogue in speech and motion between two artists supremely skilled in different forms of classical dance — artists who share as well a long commitment to contemporary expression. It brings together dancer-choreographer Akram Khan, a master of kathak, one of India's more brilliant classical idioms, and Sylvie Guillem, a ballet star famed for her technique and daring. Their 70-minute performance Wednesday in the UCLA Live series in Royce Hall represented not only a starry novelty act but also an affirmation — exactly when we needed it — that cultural isolation can be shattered, that East and West can happily coexist and grow productively from person-to-person exchange Lewis Segal, LA Times Khan and Guillem linked hands and let ripples shake their bodies. It was part dance, part struggle. At one point, Khan refused to take his partner's hand and instead bowed his head like a bull. Without touching her, he "pushed" her away. Later they launched into a dance-fight, a robotic, hip-hop-like duet. The disjointed effect was like a strobe light without the strobe. It was all done through exquisite control of their exquisite bodies. Later, they became a single, multiarmed undulating figure as Guillem wrapped her legs around Khan. In the past, it was the statuesque Guillem who grabbed, demanded even, our attention. Not on this night. Khan, the short "bald Krishna," was more than a match for Guillem. He wowed us at the end with an intimate argument with himself – "Is this right?" and "Is this wrong?" – as he repeatedly tried standing up on the tops of his feet. Ouch. Laura Bleiberg, Orange County Register The dance event, at Royce Hall, was an exhilarating exploration of the boundaries and synergy between two classical dance forms, kathak from the Mughal courts and Western ballet. "Sacred Monsters" showcased ballet and kathak disciplines separately and in combination, translating pure dance, lyrical gymnastic movement, spectacular control of bodies, consummate in the self realization of two distinct art forms blending seamlessly. India Post.com SACRED MONSTERS brings together Sylvie Guillem and Akram Khan in an exciting exploration of the boundaries between two great classical dance forms, kathak and ballet, with additional choreography by Lin Hwai-min, Artistic Director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, Taiwan and kathak guru Guari Sharma Tripath, as well as live music specially created for them by Philip Sheppard. Akram Khan, speaking about this project, said: “I have spent my life studying and performing kathak. It is the source of my creative process. Working with Sylvie Guillem is an exciting new challenge, giving me the opportunity to explore another classical dance language with one of its greatest exponents, and as a result, creating a situation that will unearth the things that are most often lost between the classical and modern world.” Choreographer/ Dancer - Akram Khan Dancer - Sylvie Guillem Additional Choreography - Lin Hwai Min (Sylvie Guillem’s solo) Additional Choreography - Guari Sharma Tripath (Akram Khan’s solo) Composer/Cello – Philip Sheppard Percussion – Coordt Linke Violin ­ Alies Sluiter Male Vocal – Faheem Mazhar Female vocal – Juliette Van Peteghem Lighting Designer - Mikki Kunttu Set Designer – Shizuka Hariu Costume Designer– Kei Ito Sound Engineer – Manu Corazzini Choreographic Assistant – Nikoleta Rafaelisova Dramaturge – Guy Cools Producer – Farooq Chaudhry Co-Producers Les Nuits de Fourviere, Lyon Grand Theatre de la Ville, Luxembourg Sadlers Wells, London Missno Limited Suported by Arts Council, England Bell Cohen Charitable Trust The Quercus Trust Structure Full length work approx 75mins that has three distinct components. A solo by Sylvie, a classical kathak solo by Akram and duet by Akram and Sylvie. There will be live music in an environment that will recreate the informality and spontaneity of an Indian Classical kathak performance. “Sacred Monsters. Monstres Sacres. The term was used for the first time in France in the 19th century as a nickname for the big stars of the theatre, such as Sarah Bernhardt. It marks the birth of contemporary stardom in which the icons of the arts and sports world are given divine status by their audience and the media. Sacred Monsters is first and foremost the meeting and exchange of two such ‘stars’ of the present day dance world: Sylvie Guillem and Akram Khan. But there is also a flip side to stardom. Having to live up to the expectancies of your audience to be perfect, positive, good (at), … There is no more room for failure, imperfection, to express one’s real feelings and emotions. The divine status becomes inhuman, monstrous. The latter being an experience we all share when as children we had to live up to the expectancies of the adults around us: our parents, our teachers, … To some extent all children are ‘sacred monsters’.” Guy Cool - dramaturge “This is a tribute to Sylvie, (based on my impression of her during our brief encounter): a vulnerable child and a warrior who holds her fate in her own palms.” Lin Hwai Min Akram Khan is one of the most gifted choreographers and dancers of his generation. He began dancing at the age of seven, studying under the great Kathak performer Sri Pratap Pawar. He presented solo performances in the 1990s, gradually developing larger scale works, drawing on his experience and training as a kathak dancer and breaking new ground in his collaborations with other artists – first seen in his first full-length work Kaash, a collaboration with Anish Kapoor and Nitin Sawhney. His production Ma was presented at the Edinburgh Festival in 2004. In 2005 he was made an associate artist of Sadler’s Wells and zero degrees, a collaboration with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Antony Gormley and Nitin Sawhney was premiered at Sadler’s Wells in the same year. In 2005 he received an MBE for his services to Dance. Sylvie Guillem is perhaps the world’s most celebrated ballerina. She has worked with many of the great choreographers including Maurice Béjart, William Forsythe, and Mats Ek, as well as being acclaimed for her performances of the major classic works of the ballet repertoire. She was Etoile at the Paris Opera Ballet under the direction of Rudolf Nureyev before joining the Royal Ballet in 1990, where she is now Principal Guest Artist. Throughout her extensive career she has received many awards, including the Nijinsky Prize (2000), the Chevalier de Legion d’Honneur (1994), and an honorary CBE (2003). Philip Sheppard is a virtuoso cellist and a pioneer of the electric cello. He is a professor at The Royal Academy of Music and has composed extensively for film, television and theatre and is a prolific recording artist. Philip has recently composed BBC Television's Easter production The Manchester Passion as well as compositions for Horizon, Simon Schama's History of Britain and Theatre de Complicite's The Elephant Vanishes. He has recently written and recorded with Scott Walker, David Bowie, Damien Hirst, Oasis and Unkle, and appears as improvising soloist on the soundtracks of The Business, The Virgin Queen, Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire and Hotel Rwanda.

AKRAM KHAN COMPANY Bahok

(North American Premiere) February/March 2010

TOUR DATES 2011 9-Feb Irvine Barclay Theatre 12-Feb Arts Power! UC San Diego 16-Feb Arts & Lectures, UC Santa Barbara Feb 18, 19 & 20 Yerba Buena Center, San Francisco 24-Feb Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Detroit Feb 26, 27 & 28 Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago 3-Mar University of Minnesota, Minneapolis THE OzAsia Festival's stated aim of celebrating beauty and cultural diversity could hardly be better fulfilled than in Bahok, a stunning work from the acclaimed Akram Khan Company, receiving its first Australian performances. Adelaide Now Oct 2009

“It's the first time that Khan has choreographed a show in which he does not himself appear, and it seems likely to set a precedent. Neither he nor, indeed, his audience need worry, however, when his chosen dancers convey so much of his distinctive mercurial movement, whimsy and wisdom.” The Independent “Khan's choreography is adept at blending classical ballet and contemporary dance techniques, but it is the visceral speed and agility of kathak (his dance roots) that power the most amazing sections. In one, near the end, the dancers, arms frantically rotating like propellers, practically achieve lift-off. In a similar vein, Nitin Sawhney's brilliant score taps into spiritual and corporeal energies with an equal sense of excitement and elegance.” The Times (London

bahok was originally a collaboration with the National Ballet of China, the first of its kind between a UK contemporary dance company and a state-funded national company in China. Featuring an original score by Akram Khan’s long time collaborator Nitin Sawhney, bahok brings together a new company of eight dancers from Spain, Slovakia, India, South Korea, Taiwan (Republic of China) and South Africa. In one of this globalised world’s transit zones, they come together. They try to communicate, to exchange their stories, their memories of home. “The dancers are the writers of the show. They are the ones who bring the source material. We search for the little stories that they bring with them and exploring these short stories of each individual, we find a bigger story. That’s what fascinates me, to explore these personal stories of these individuals on stage, in order to discover and reveal a more universal one.” (Akram Khan) bahok premiered in Beijing in January 2008, and gained rave reviews and international acclaim on its subsequent world tour. Following this success, bahok is embarking on its second tour in 2009/2010. This adventure began in 2006 with the National Ballet of China. At that stage all that existed was the commitment to try something new, an enthusiasm for an idea and the ambition to convert this idea into something that could be beautiful and meaningful.Needless to say there were challenges in bringing together the resources of a large flagship national ballet company with that of a small independent contemporary troupe halfway across the world. There were obvious ones such as language, culture, movement styles, availability but also less obvious ones such as the hope for reinvention, developing new expectations and reflecting inner and outer aspirations. We had to learn a lot of new rules, demand more of ourselves and develop more sophisticated means of cooperation. Our team and that of the National Ballet of China were up to this task, and I’m extremely proud of what we collectively achieved. Collaboration for us is not just a means of artistic possibility but a great opportunity to learn from other cultures and disciplines. It is through this learning that I find the greatest satisfaction. Ironically, you end up both knowing more and less about yourself at the same time, but whatever happens it stops you from remaining static, from relying on familiar information and gives you a constant sense of motion. What could be better than that? Farooq Chaudhry | Producer Artistic director/Choreographer Akram Khan Composer Nitin Sawhney Dramaturge Guy Cools Co-producers: Sadlers Wells Theatre, London, British Council, The Liverpool Culture Company with Merseyside, Dance Initiative, DanceXchange, Birmingham, Theatre de La Ville, Paris, Tanzhaus NRW Dusseldorf, National Arts Center, Ottawa, China Now, London

“you can almost hear the sensual static as the pair loop and curve,

like two magnets, resisting each other then snapping tight.”

Evening Standard, UK, 19/09/08

“If we had to say in one word what we wish for our creation In-I, we would choose the word ‘dare’. If we could add two more, we would definitely choose: ‘the new’. Daring the new is why we said yes to each other. But can we reach each other? Can we try and get close? Conflicts, fear, needs and hopes can be walls that we have to face. However, in between two people, there’s a third, the space in between the two, and it is in the search for the third that we discover who we really are. If the Greeks had 14 words to describe different ways of loving, how many do we experience?” Juliette Binoche & Akram Khan May 2008 Co-directed and performed by Juliette Binoche & Akram Khan Set Designer Anish Kapoor Composer Philip Sheppard Lighting Designer Michael Hulls Costume Designer Kei Ito Dramaturge Guy Cools Rehearsal Director/Dance Coach (Juliette Binoche) Su-Man Hsu Producer Farooq Chaudhry Juliette BinocheAn international star of extraordinary, almost otherworldly beauty, French actress Juliette Binoche was born in Paris. The daughter of a sculptor/theater director and an actress, Binoche studied acting at the National School of Dramatic Art of Paris. Following graduation, she followed her mother's footsteps and became a stage actress, occasionally taking small parts in French feature films. Binoche first earned recognition in 1985 for playing a modernized, teenaged version of the Virgin Mary in Jean-Luc Godard's controversial "Je Vous Salue, Marie/Hail Mary." The actress became a bona fide French star the same year with an acclaimed performance in André Téchiné's "Rendez-Vous." And though the darling of the 1985 Cannes Film Festival, Binoche gained true international acclaim when she played Tereza in Philip Kaufman's "The Unbearable Lightness of Bein" in 1988. Binoche was cast in a lead role in filmmaker Leos Carax's chilling "Mauvais Sang/Bad Blood." Binoche appeared in his "Les Amants du Pont-Neuf," a film they began in 1988 finish in 1991. Binoche had great success starring opposite Jeremy Irons in "Louis Malle's Damage" (1992). The same year, the actress appeared with future English Patient co-star Ralph Fiennes in a new film version of "Wuthering Heights," and followed that with the lead role in Krzysztof Kieslowski's “Blue.” (She also appeared briefly in the trilogy's other installments, "Red” and “White"). Binoche returned in 1995 with "Le Hussard sur le Toit/The Horseman on the Roof." In 1996, she earned further international recognition with a Best Supporting Actress Oscar (as well as a host of other awards) for her role in "The English Patient." Returning to her native France amidst a golden haze of critical acclaim, Binoche appeared in the same year's "Un Divan a New York," a romantic comedy in which she starred opposite William Hurt. In 1998, she again collaborated with director Téchiné, this time on the romantic drama "Alice et Martin." Revered as near royalty by the French press (who often simply refer to her a La Binoche) and a beloved star worldwide, Binoche's remarkable second wind found her popularity soaring and her screen presence more powerful than ever. Binoche's daring and intense performance as 19th century literary icon George Sand in the drama "Children of the Century" indeed impressed audiences and critics. Binoche was cast in "The Widow of Saint-Pierre" The redemption-themed drama perform smashingly at the international box-office and also found it's star earning a Cesar nomination for Best Actress. A teaming with filmmaker Michael Haneke resulted in the intersecting lives drama "Code Unknown" (2000). Binoche gave a captivating performance that same year in the art-house hit "Chocolat." Cast as the free-spirited owner of a chocolate shop located in a small French town, the dedicated actress actually prepared for the role by learning to make chocolate at a popular Paris sweet shop. The film was an international runaway hit, and the beloved starlet was nominated for Best Actress awards across the globe. Following a lighthearted performance opposite French icon Jean Reno in the romantic comedy "Jet Lag," Binoche most recently appeared with American star Samuel L. Jackson in director John Boorman's political oriented drama "In My Country." Juliette can be seen next in "Bee Season" with Richard Gere slated for a 2005 release.She is currently filming five new projects including Anthony Minghella’s, “Breaking and Entering,” opposite Jude Law; Michael Haneke’s, “Cache;” Abel Ferrara’s, “Mary,” opposite Matthew Modine and Forest Witaker; and “Quelques jours en Septembre,” opposite John Turturro. Juliette currently lives in France with her two children. Akram Khan is one of the most acclaimed choreographer of his generation working in Britain today. Born in London into a family of Bangladeshi origin in 1974, he began dancing at the age of seven. He studied with the great Kathak dancer and teacher Sri Pratap Pawar, later becoming his disciple. He began his stage career at the age of 14, when he was cast in Peter Brook’s legendary production of Mahabharata, touring the world between 1987 and 1989 and appearing in the televised version of the play broadcast in 1988. Following later studies in contemporary dance and a period working with Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s Brussels based X-Group project, he began presenting solo performances of his work in the 1990s, maintaining his commitment to the classical kathak repertoire as well as modern work. Among his best-known solo pieces are: Polaroid Feet (2001), Ronin (2003) and Third Catalogue (2005). In August 2000, he launched his own company, which has provided him with a platform for innovation and an increasingly diverse range of work evolved in collaboration with artists from other disciplines, ranging across theatre, film, visual arts, music and literature. Among his most notable company works are Kaash (2002) a collaboration with artist Anish Kapoor and composer Nitin Sawhney, ma (2004), created for seven dancers, four musicians and accompanied by a text by acclaimed writer Hanif Kureishi, for which he received a South Bank Show Award (2005); zero degrees (2005), a collaboration with dancer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, sculptor Antony Gormley and composer Nitin Sawhney, premiered at Sadler’s Wells. As Choreographer-in-Residence and later as an Associate Artist at the South Bank Centre, he presented a recital with Pandit Birju Maharaj and Sri Pratap Pawar; and A God of Small Tales, a piece for mature women for which he again collaborated with writer, Hanif Kureishi. He remained an Associate Artist at the South Bank Centre until April 2005, the first non-musician to be afforded this status, and is currently an Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells. In 2007, he will be touring to Australia, Japan, France, Hong Kong, South Korea, USA, Netherlands, Singapore, Luxembourg, Spain, Greece, Sweden, Finland, Argentina, Taiwan, Germany, Italy and Belgium. One of his most recent projects is Variations, a collaboration with London Sinfonietta to celebrate the 70th birthday of Steve Reich, which premiered in Birmingham in March 2006, and tour to Europe and America later this year. The other is Sacred Monsters, a major new work featuring ballerina Sylvie Guillem, with additional choreography by Taiwanese choreographer Lin Hwai Min, which premiered at Sadler’s Wells in September 2006. More recently, he made a new work, Lost Shadows, as guest choreographer, for Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, Taiwan’s first contemporary dance company, which premiered in Taiwan in March 2007. Akram Khan was also invited by Kylie Minogue in summer 2006 to choreograph a section of her new Showgirl concert, which opened in Australia in November 2006, and toured to the UK (London and Manchester) in January 2007. Akram Khan has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Jerwood Foundation Choreography Award (2000); ‘Outstanding Newcomer to Dance Award’ from both the Dance Critics' Circle (2000) and Time Out Live (2000); ‘Best Modern Choreography’ from the Dance Critics' Circle (2002); the International Movimentos Tanzpreis (2004) for ‘Most Promising Newcomer in Dance’, a South Bank Show Award (2005) and was nominated for a Nijinsky Award for Best Newcomer (2002).More recently, he was awarded the 2005 Critics' Circle National Dance Awards for Outstanding Male or Female Artist (modern). And Zero Degrees - Akram Khan/ Sidi Larbi Cherckaoui/ Antony Gormley/ Nitin Sawnhey - was nominated for the 2006 Laurence Olivier Awards (Best New Dance Production). In 2004 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from De Montfort University for his contribution to the UK arts community, and was awarded an MBE for his services to Dance in 2005.

Anish Kapoor was born in Bombay in 1954 and has lived in London since the early 70’s when he studied at Hornsey College of Art and Chelsea School of Art Design. Over the past twenty years Anish Kapoor has exhibited extensively in London and all over the world. His solo shows have included venues such as Kunsthalle Basel, Tate Gallery and Hayward Gallery in London, Reina Sofia in Madrid and CAPC in Bordeaux. He has also participated internationally in many group shows including the Whitechapel Art Gallery, The Royal Academy and Serpentine Gallery in London, Documenta IX in Kassel, Moderna Museet in Stockholm and Jeu de Paume and Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Anish Kapoor was awarded the ‘Premio Duemila’ at the Venice Biennale in 1990, the Turner Prize Award in 1991 and was awarded an Honorary Fellowship at the London Institute in 1997 and a CBE in 2003. He is represented by the Lisson Gallery, London, Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York and Galleria Continua and Galleria Massimo Minini, Italy.

Media

thelondonpaper, UK

19/09/08

“this meditation on love and obsession… is straightforward, honest and full of humour…The dancing is the star of the show; Khan is incredible, throwing himself against walls, the floor, and Binoche…displaying a confident physicality and looking as if she is having a ball...By the end (it) achieves exactly what they set out to do.”

whatsonstage, UK

19/09/08

“Catch the ever luminous La Binoche in this intriguing piece…

an exploration, through words, music and dance, of love.”

Binoche’s strength is…in her constant habitation of the character from

vulnerable teenager to ferocious lover. Expression floods her whole form

and reaches out to us; something you just can’t train for.”

“With a vital wall Anish Kapoor makes a deceptively simple set that is

stunningly lit by Michael Hulls, and Philip Shepphard’s fusion soundtrack is

excellent; ebbing and flowing but never intrusive, shadowing the

dancing tides of submission, dominance, violence and affection.”

Evening Standard, UK

19/09/08

“you can almost hear the sensual static as the pair loop and curve,

like two magnets, resisting each other then snapping tight.”

The Stage, UK

19/09/08

”It’s clear from the onset that Binoche moves well…her disregard for

polish is endearing, and her overall performance, charming.”

Times Online, UK

22/09/08

“Binoche…more than holds her own alongside the muscular, contained

whirlwind that Khan becomes when in motion. Spinning, striding and swiping at

her partner or the air, she invests herself in the moment with an emotional daring

many trained dancers lack.”

Financial Times, UK

21/9/08

“There is no better conveyer of emotional fragitility, and to see (Binoche) next to

Khan’s effortless command of his moves introduced a new, possibly unintended, dynamic into the relationship.”

“Khan’s excellence as a dancer was highlighted by a striking solo in which he

twirled and spun on the spot with such velocity that he recalled the blurred,

tortured figure of a Francis Bacon painting.”

Sunday Times, UK

28/9/08

“Binoche’s physical achievement is incredible: Khan is a master mover,

but she keeps pace. She matches her steps to his bullish pace, playfully

disrupting his determined patterns.”

“The stunning design, by the aritist Anish Kapoor and the lighting maven

Michael Hulls, creates a high, moving wall, drenched in colour:

intense saffron and violet, twilight mauve, bruised rose.”

“It’s marvellous to observe (Binoche’s) impulsive appetite here, to catch the

triumph in her secret smile…For Khan too, the piece marks a leap…

The show scuds on their joint magnetism, her tomboy energy squaring up

to his trim, masculine precision…the duo’s dedication is palpable.”

Il Messaggero, Rome

17/11/08

“…(Khan) offered a varied and firm composition…intense, pregnant with associations…blending text with visual art, which together build up the full score.”

“(Binoche) dances as a human being who found in itself the eternal dancing ‘self’,

the one which in the Indian tradition, through Shiva, generated the world...”

  “Let me tell you a story,” says Akram Khan in seductive tones well into his extraordinary new work, Ma. But the huge audience is captivated before hearing a word of it. The opening image has already spoken volumes; Faheem Mazhar, barely visible in the darkness, suspended upside down, a stream of evocative Sufi song pouring from his mouth.”The Independent “Khan and six dancers spiral and whip through space like human rotary blades…MA feels like a complete and tightly constructed experience. ” - The Times (London) “One essential point about Khan is that, at the age of 30, he’s still mapping out what routes are open to him as a choreographer; another is that he’s already won himself an audience that will follow avidly, wherever he chooses to go.” The Guardian Following the critical and audience success of “KAASH” which toured throughout the world, Akram Khan will return to North America with a company of eight dancers, three musicians (voice, percussion and cello), text by Hanif Kureishi and Arundhati Roy, original score by Riccardo Nova and recorded music by Ictus Ensemble in a new full-length work ‘MA’.

In June 2006 Akram Khan was awarded an MBE for his services to the UK dance community

Since July 2005, Akram Khan is an Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells Theatre

Lincoln Center, Great Performers presents ‘MA’ at Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York April 26, 28 & 29, 2006 Danse Danse/ LOMA presents ‘Ma” at Theatre Maisonneuve, Montreal May 3, 4, 5 & 6, 2006 Co– producers The South Bank Centre, Théâtre de la Ville, Singapore Arts Festival, Romaeuropa Festival 2004, Arts Centre Vooruit, Tanzhaus nrw- Dusseldorf, Holland Festival, Göteborg Dance and Theatre Festival, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

Akram Khan classical kathak solo

March 2011

  Internationally acclaimed choreographer AKRAM KHAN is celebrated for the vitality and innovation he brings to cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary expression. A master of kathak (classical Indian dance) and an award-winning choreographer of contemporary dance, Khan is continuously breaking boundaries between tradition and innovation, East and West. Returning to his classical Indian dance roots, Khan brings the opposing worlds of tradition and innovation face-to-face. Inspired by the Mahabharata story of queen Gandari, who blindfolds herself for life to follow her blind husband, ‘Gnosis’ explores the notion of inner knowledge and clouded vision, “seeing darkness, and yet being blind to light”. Accompanied by world-class musicians from India, Japan and UK, this promises to be a technically virtuosic, thought-provoking piece. ‘Gnosis’ will premiere at Sadler’s Wells in November 2009 as part of ‘Svapnagata’, a two-week festival of Indian music and dance curated by Khan and composer Nitin Sawhney. During its 2010 world tour, Khan will work in collaboration with musicians of certain cities to bring a unique version of ‘Gnosis’ to local audiences. From the Greek word for ‘knowledge’, gnosis is an evening of solo kathak dance with five on-stage musicians. Featuring a guest appearance by Japanese kathak dancer, Yuko Inoue, Akram Khan includes choreography by his guru, Pratap Pawar and celebrated performer and teacher Gauri Tripathi, Artist in Residence at London’s Southbank Centre.

Gnosis tech rider march 2010 final (PDF)