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 (****)
"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.comSACRED 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 MinAkram 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.
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 KapoorAnish 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 themuscular, contained
whirlwind that Khan becomeswhen in motion. Spinning, striding and swiping at
her partner or the air, she invests herself in the moment with anemotional 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
