Akram Khan Company
Type of work
Indian Classical Dance (Kathak) and Contemporary dance
Company policy
Founded in August 2000 by choreographer Akram Khan and producer Farooq Chaudhry, Akram Khan Company journeys across boundaries to create uncompromising artistic narratives. Having established itself as one of the foremost innovative dance companies in the world, the company is renowned for its intercultural, interdisciplinary collaborations and for challenging conventional ideas of traditional dance forms. 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.
Akram Khan Company tours extensively both within the United Kingdom and internationally at leading international festival and venues, performing a diverse range of programmes including classical kathak solos, ensemble productions and artist-to-artist collaborations. The company has been awarded with several prestigious honours including the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Dance (2010, Gnosis), The Age Critics’ Award for Best New Work (2010, Vertical Road) at the Melbourne Arts Festival and the Helpmann Award for Best Choreography and Best Male Dancer (2007, zero degrees) in Sydney.
Review extracts
‘Now when [Khan] dances, he doesn’t just tell his own story – he tells all our stories.’ The Arts Desk
“visually arresting and ultimately moving dance/drama that leaves you wanting more” The Stage UK
‘fertile dance that touches the soul and lingers in the imagination.’ The Australian
‘An evening of rare intelligence and artistry.’ Financial Times
‘[Khan] is a true choreographer – someone who asks what it is to be human and provides the answers in dance” London Evening Standard
Production highlights
DESH (2011) (meaning ‘homeland’ in Bengali) is Akram Khan’s first full-length contemporary solo and his most personal work to date. Hailed as a ‘masterpiece’, DESH draws multiple tales of land, nation, resistance and convergence into the body and voice of one man trying to find his balance in an unstable world. For this production Khan teams up with Oscar-winning visual artist Tim Yip, fellow Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist lighting designer Michael Hulls, writer and poet Karthika Nair and Olivier award-winning composer Jocelyn Pook.
Vertical Road (2010) is the latest company work. Khan has assembled a cast of very special performers from across Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Vertical Road draws inspiration from the Sufi tradition and the Persian poet and philosopher Rumi. Exploring man’s earthly nature, his rituals and the consequences of human actions, Vertical Road becomes a meditation on the journey from gravity to grace. It received The Age Critics Award for Best New Work at Melbourne Arts Festival in 2010.
Gnosis (2009), recipient of South Bank Sky Arts Dance Award 2011, is a work by Akram Khan in which he combines his classical Indian and contemporary dance roots. Khan revisits the classical motifs of two earlier solos, Polaroid Feet and Tarana, while Gnosis is a new duet, inspired by Hindu epic Mahabharata, where Khan partners with the acclaimed guest artist Fang-Yi Sheu. Pursuing the idea of the ‘knowledge within’, it is an exploration of the inner and outer battles of characters, the human and the godly. Khan is accompanied on stage by an ensemble of exceptional musicians from around the world.
Confluence (2009) fuses Nitin Sawhney’s music with Akram Khan’s unique blend of classical kathak and contemporary technique. Exploring how the independent stories of these two kindred spirits converged, Confluence offers the opportunity to re-visit their collaborative work together (Kaash, zero degrees and bahok) but it is more than simply a retrospective of their previous pieces. It is an exploration of the nature and fabric of creativity itself.
Sacred Monsters (2006), the term was used for the first time in France in the 19th century as a nickname for the big stars of the theatre. 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. This production is the first and foremost the meeting and exchange of two ‘stars’ of the present day dance world: Sylvie Guillem and Akram Khan, where they explored the idea of living up to expectations not just as star performers but also as children.
Past company productions include:
bahok (2008), made in a special collaboration with China’s flagship ballet classical ballet company National Ballet of China; In-I (2008), a duet between Akram Khan and Juliette Binoche, in collaboration with Anish Kapoor; Variations for Vibes, Strings and Pianos (2006), made to the music of Steve Reich; zero degrees (2005), a critically acclaimed collaboration with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Antony Gormley and Nitin Sawhney; Third catalogue (2005), ma (2004), ronin (2003), Kaash (2002), Related Rocks (2001), Rush (2000), fix (2000) and Loose in Flight (2000).
Wrap-Around Activity
Workshops for professional dancers, post-show talks and arts management talks are available as wrap-around activities.
Permanent staff
Artistic Director: Akram Khan
Producer: Farooq Chaudhry
Associate Producer: Bia Oliveira
Technical Director: Fabiana Piccioli
Finance Director: Jan Hart
Executive Assistant / Tour Manager: Mashitah Omar
Tour Manager: Arthur Laurent
Administrator: Marek Pomocki
Administrative Assistant: JiaXuan Hon
Company size
Small to middle-scale touring.
Akram Khan Company
Unit 232a
35 Britannia Row
London N1 8QH
UK
Tel: +44 20 7354 4333
Fax: +44 20 7354 5554
Email: farooq@akramkhancompany.net
www.akramkhancompany.net