British-Bangladeshi dancer-choreographer Akram Khan is a celebrated icon in the world of dance. He is also a tremendous favourite of NAC audiences, having appeared at the National Arts Centre numerous times in the last decade – always to enthusiastic audiences, and great acclaim.
Khan transcends cultural boundaries. He is known for versatility (he is adept at both Indian Kathak classical dance and contemporary dance), innovative choreography, energy and grace, and a charismatic presence onstage. He is prolific, having presented a new production every year since 2002. His collaborators include Kylie Minogue, Juliette Binoche, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and film director Danny Boyle, who asked Akram to choreograph and perform at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. In January 2012, Akram Khan ruptured his Achilles tendon, and learning to walk again took three months. Dance fans may recall that his production of Gnosis at the NAC had to be cancelled a month later.
Akram Khan is not yet 40 and his career already spans three decades. This month he takes over as guest artistic director of the UK’s National Youth Dance Company, for whom he will create new work, and he recently made his big screen debut as choreographer for the film Desert Dancer. He claims his dancing days are numbered – perhaps another five years – and that he will spend more time choreographing and directing.
Meaning “homeland” in Bengali, DESH is a new full-length dance solo inspired by Bangladesh, the homeland of Akram Khan’s parents. Khan collaborates with an award-winning composer and visual design team to weave together threads of memory, experience, and myth. His search for identity is intimate and epic, magical and moving.
In DESH, Akram Khan’s journey is intensely personal. One man trying to find his balance in an unstable world, he transforms himself with miraculous shape-shifting eloquence. His dancing is mercurial, seemingly boneless, seamless, with new power and precision. DESH is both dream and story, a tale of transformation and survival. DESH is also full of sublime images. It’s his most mesmerizing work to date, hailed by critics as a masterpiece, the most urgent, beautiful, and confident work of his career. DESH won the UK’s 2012 Olivier Award for ‘Best New Dance Production’.
Numerous articles about Akram Khan can be found here, on the company website.
Akram Khan performs DESH in the Theatre on Thursday November 14, Friday November 15, and Saturday November 16 at 7:30 p.m.
