Akram Khan's World Influences

"Work created in the performing arts, consciously or sub-consciously, strongly reflects the world we live in through the artist’s eye"
- Akram Khan, February 2008

Akram Khan was born in 1974, and while many world events affected him through his lifetime, much of his inspiration for choreography comes from a broader, more humanistic approach. His tendency is to explore topics related to the psychology of culture, the group, and the individual, pushing acceptance of the human being while acknowledging and appreciating the varying differences between us.

Here is a video of Khan discussing his London influences at the Olivier Awards in 2012.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 must have influenced him, even in his youth. Other world events such as the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Rwanda Genocide in 1994, India and Pakistan’s testing of nuclear weapons in 1998, as well as the rapid growth of globalization, technology, and media are happening within his time and no doubt affect him as an artist.

While all of these events are critical, Khan focuses less on specific events for his choreography than the way that these current events reflect and affect humanity. On the Akram Khan Company website there is a description of his work Bahok, created in 2008:

“Bahok brings together 8 dancers from diverse cultures, traditions and dance backgrounds: Chinese, Korean, Indian, South African and Spanish. As such, they resemble a present day version of the tale of Babel, speaking different languages both with their bodies and tongues. They meet in one of this globalised world’s transit zones and try to communicate, to share ‘the things they carry with them’: their experiences, their memories of their original homes, the dreams and aspirations that made them move.”

Here is a video of the outstanding performance.

Akram Khan Company 'bahok' from Article19 on Vimeo.

This is a great example of how Khan is affected by the world he lives in, and shows the human spirit within it. About Vertical Road (2010) he states that it is related to the fast-paced lifestyle and losing track of our spirituality.

"In a world moving so fast (horizontally), with the growth of technology and information, I am somehow inclined to move against this current, in search of what it might mean to be connected not just spiritually, but also vertically."

In his work Desh (2011) he draws upon his own past in British and Bangladesh cultures and fuses it with nature, spirit, and legend.

“DESH meaning 'homeland' in Bengali, 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…DESH explores fragility in the face of natural forces, and celebrates the resilience of the human spirit in the rhythms of labor, in dream and story, and in transformation and survival.”

Akram Khan explores world events and conditions by looking at humanity through an individual, group, and cultural perspective. He is also inspired by a variety of other topics, such as Stravinsky’s compositional revolution, in his new work iTMOi.

Collaborations, Training, and Lessons Learned

            Akram Khan was first introduced to the renowned Kathak teacher, Sri Pratap Pawar by his mother when he was just seven years old. He studied with Pawar until he was 18, and eventually became his disciple. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at De Montfort University in Leicester to study dance, and experienced ballet and contemporary styles for the first time. After only two years, he transferred to the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds. Here his extensive training included classical ballet, Graham, Cunningham, Alexander, and release-based techniques, contact improvisation and physical theatre. Here is an image of Sri Pratap Pawar performing at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in 2012.

            After absorbing this wealth of knowledge, in 1999 Khan attended the choreographer’s exchange, Choreolab. Here, he created and produced three works, including one called “Desert Steps” in collaboration with Jonathan Burrows. In Khan’s blog, he states that Burrows was essential in his understanding of how traditional Kathak technique relates to his recent understanding of Contemporary.
Here is an image of Jonathan Burrows, one of UK's leading choreographers.

            In 2000, Khan performed his first company work, “Rush”. There was much interest in his new company, and he received financial support from Dance Umbrella, Yorkshire Dance Centre, Dance East, Burmingham DanceXChange and Sampad. From this outstanding performance, he was awarded “Outstanding Newcomer” by the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award. His unique fusion of Kathak and Contemporary was coined by the critics of this performance as “Contemporary Kathak”. Here is a link to a review of "Rush" by Stephanie Ferguson.

            Just one year later, in 2001, his newly found company was commissioned by the London Sinfonietta to create “Related Rocks”. This piece was considered as a test run for his first full-length work performed in 2002 called “Kaash”. This ambitious collaboration included music by Nitin Sawhney and designs by the internationally known artist and sculptor, Anish Kapoor. “Kaash” was premiered in the Exit Festival Maison des Arts in Creteil. In this work, he continued building bridges between Kathak and Contemporary techniques. Here is a video of "Kaash".

            For “Red or White”, Akram collaborated with Matthew Hart and the creators of George Piper Dances, a small dance company led by ex-royal ballet dancers William Trevitt and Michael Nunn. This same year, he worked with an English writer, Hanif Kureishi on a piece called “A God of Small Tales”. This collaboration set the groundwork for his second full-length dance, “ma” with his expanded company of now seven dancers. This dance is noted as his most ambitious project to date, he performed classical Kathak material in a Contemporary work for the first time, and also included text again provided by Hanif Kureishi.

            One of his largest collaboration pieces was “zero degrees” from 2005. Himself and choreographer/performer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui collectively choreographed and performed the duet. Music was provided by Mercury Award winner Nitin Sawhney and lighting by Mikki Kunttu. The Turner prize-winning sculptor Antony Gormley created life-sized casts of Khan and Cherkaoui, seemingly turning the duet into a quartet.

            In 2008, Khan collaborated with the National Ballet of China and composer Nitin Sawhney to create “bahok”, premiered in Beijing. Soon after, he created a duet including Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche. Philip Sheppard composed music and Anish Kapoor created the visual design.
Here is an image of (from left to right) Anish Kapoor, Akram Khan, Juliette Binoche, and Philip Sheppard, who also composed for Khan's "A God of Small Tales", "In-I", and "Sacred Monsters".

            Khan gathered a variety of performers and artists from the East and West to create his piece, “Vertical Road” in 2010. His goal was to bring to the table a wide range of cultural traditions and dance roots. This theme continued in “Gnosis”. World-class musicians accompanied the performance from India, Japan, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom. Fang-Yi Sheu also joined the production as a guest artist in 2011. His most recent production, currently still touring, is “DESH”. It is a full-length modern dance theater solo inspired by his homeland of Bangladesh. In this piece, Khan collaborates with Tim Yip; a visual designer so received an Oscar for his scenography in the film, “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”. Also on board was award winning lighting designer, Michael Mulls, composer Jocelyn Pook and co-writer Kathika Nair. DESH means 'homeland', and is an intimate and epic solo performed by Khan himself. DESH explores fragility in the face of natural forces, and celebrates the resilience of the human spirit in the rhythms of labour, in dream and story, and the transformation and survival.
Here is a clip of the powerful performance.

            After going through the tremendous amount of work Khan has created over almost 15 years of choreographic history, it is evident he enjoys collaborating. I admire Khan’s usage of traditional artists such as sculptors, as well as composers and other dancers and choreographers.  His works have excelled and remain extremely innovative, by having additional expertise and creativity in a variety of fields. 

Akram Khan's Early History and Inspiration

Akram Khan was born in 1974 in Wimbledon, London, England to a family from Dhaka, Bangladesh. He started dancing at age three, and began studying Kathak seriously at age seven under his teacher Sri Pratap Pawar. Kathak is a traditional Indian dance form with roots in ancient northern India. It uses stylized, gestural dance to tell tales from Indian mythology. Here is clip of an example of traditional Kathak Indian dance.

Throughout his studies, he has discovered ways to uniquely overlap the traditional Kathak Indian style and his later contemporary training. He states in his blog, Jonathan Burrows, a friend he met at Choreolab in London, was pivotal to him understanding the manner in which these two genres correlate. This perfect harmony of styles is quite possibly why he is noted to be one of UK’s most celebrated and respected artists.

In an interview with The Dependent (UK) newspaper, Khan talks about his early dance inspiration: "We would do it at mela. It's like an outdoor Indian festival," he says. "I didn't want to, because nobody would sit and watch. People were talking and my mother said 'if you can win this audience, this is the test'. That's where I learnt the most."

He began performing at age 13, when he was cast in Peter Brook’s Shakespeare Company production of Mahabharata. While in this production, he was able to tour the world for two years (between 1987 and 1989) and even performed in the televised version of the play.

It’s clear that Akram Khan’s entrance into the dance world is through his cultural community, rather than conservatory-style training. This brings uniqueness to his later works. In these early years Khan loved dancing, but never considered it as a career possibility for him until his college years. Now, he is being recognized for being profoundly moving and a boldly intelligent storyteller. 

In a recent piece from 2010 called Vertical Road, he pulls inspiration from Sufi tradition (a primarily Islamic practice), and Persian poet and philosopher Rumi. Khan's website describes the piece, "Exploring man's earthly nature, his rituals and the consequences of human actions". Khan also states, "I am somehow inclined to move against this current, in search of what it might mean to be connected not just spiritually, but also vertically". Here is a clip from this striking performance. 

Kristin's Dance Biography

I began my “dance training” in kindergarten at a small studio in the Chicago land area. I took classes in tap, jazz, and ballet, and didn’t have a strong love of dance until I got into high school. In 2007, as a freshman, I joined my high schools orchesis dance organization and performed in student works as well as choreographing a two group pieces and a solo. I realized that many of the dancers were at a higher skill level than me, so with advice from my fellow orchesis dancers I found a different studio, and only studied there for two years, until I became aquainted with Midwest Dance Collective.

Midwest Dance Collective is a pre-professional modern dance company under the direction of past Joffrey Ballet Company member, Ellen Werksman. It is at this point in my life that I realized my true passion for dance and ambition to make own contribution to the dance world. Through MDC I was able to perform in collaboration with Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago at the Harris Theater, in collaboration with Inaside Chicago Dance, and as a featured guest artist with Ballet Legere. I also performed in pieces choreographed by Zachary Heller (Giordano Dance Company), John Lehrer (Lehrer Dance), Debra Nanni (Dance Motions), Director Ellen Werksman (Midwest Dance Collective).

I am currently a Bachelor of Fine Arts student (contemporary dance) at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. I am studying Ballet, Modern, Improvisation, African, theory, and Composition. My professors have included Simone Ferro, Elizabeth Johnson, Dani Kuepper, Janet Lilly, Karissa Skiba, Marsha Parsons, Luc Vanier, Gerald Casel, Christina Briggs-Winslow, Katie Sopoci, Maria Gillespie, Ferne Bronson, and Debra Loewen. At the university I have performed in student works, and works by Janet Lilly, Gerald Casel, guest artists Petr Zahradnicek and currently Stephan Koplowitz. I have also choreographed a fully produced work at the university, and am currently working on an independent study solo.

I am interested in performing for various dance companies throughout the world. I intend to expand my knowledge in the world of dance and art, so that I can form my own choreographic voice and start my own site specific performance company. My interests are broad and I want to expand them further. I am very interested in multi-media collaborations, and site specific dance. I want to bring dance out of the darkness of the theater and into the public world with the same amount of strength as music and visual arts. I think dance is an underappreciated art form, and is not well understood by the public. Therefore, I’d love dance to be in busy public spaces, free of charge, so that people who may not have thought twice about buying a ticket to a dance performance can still be exposed to the art form.

Shelby's History of Dance

So the story goes like this. At seven years old and searching for a hobby, my parents signed me up for a Co-Ed baseball team. Since all the boys were allowed to play the bases, as one of the few girls, I was secluded to the outfield. After being scolded by my coach for "dancing in the outfield", I decided baseball wasn't for me, and consequently enrolled in dance classes. I was definitely not the girly type, so ballet was not an option. I started in beginner Jazz classes and grew to love it. I continued studying with different teachers at Nancy Dianne Studio of Dance in Menomonee Falls. I began studying Modern technique in middle school with Jaimi Patterson. For the majority of my time taking classes with her, she was studying dance at UW-Milwaukee, and much what she was learning was being fed to us young dancers. I went to see her choreography in New Dancemakers and saw her perform "Nutcracked" with Your Mother Dances. I continued studying with her and she really saw the potential in me. Her encouragement and passion for the art form really led me to consider continuing dance into college. In an effort to experience a city further from my hometown, I settled on UW-Green Bay after high school. I decided on a Graphic Design major with a Dance minor. It was at this school that I took my first class of Ballet class EVER! It was a great environment to learn because I was in a class with lots of other people who had never danced in their life. The teacher really started with the basics and taught all of the specific positions and their appropriate names. I am so grateful for this class to be my first experience with ballet, which definitely didn't leave a sour taste in my mouth. At this school I also took Jazz I technique, which was very easy for me after my then 11 years of experience with Jazz. After attending this school for a semester, I really missed my family at home and I was beginning to realize that the Dance department at this school was mostly technique for Theater majors instead of dance technique for dancers. Because of these two reasons, I talked to Jaimi Patterson, and decided to transfer to UW-Milwaukee in Spring of 2010. Because this school didn't have a minor in dance, I planned to double major with Graphic Design and Dance. This was a whole new world. I was so amazed and overwhelmed my first semester, but I didn't want to stop. I was lucky enough to be casted in two pieces in New Dancemakers of Fall 2010. Following this, I was casted in my first faculty piece with Luc Vanier, premiered in January 2012. I was completely shocked and thrilled to have this opportunity. I put everything into learning the material and doing my absolute best at fulfilling what was asked of me. This experience really taught me a lot about dance in the real world. Later, I was also casted in Summerdances 2012 with my first guest choreographer, Colleen Thomas. She really was a choreographer from the dance world, and I once again gave it my all and learned so much. Continuing to take technique and academic dance classes, I searched for my place in the dance world, and I still am today. I try to merge my graphic design expertise and understanding of design principles to my theories of dance. I also struggle with how my design work could connect with the dance world. Then, I was approached by Gerald Casel to help him create advertising for his upcoming dance performance, and I finally saw the connection. I was able to bring my knowledge of dance to the design to showcase the performers, yet do it in a smart, marketable way with my design experience. Most recently, I was casted in a piece with Katie Sopoci-Drake and Simone Ferro's recreation of Magnetic Field from 2007. I was given the opportunity to dance with an ex-Pilobolus dancer, Edwin Olvera. This experience has truly changed me and given me the confidence that I can dance! It was so amazing to hear such great feedback and encouragement from my family, friends and peers that sometimes I really crave. Now having Edwin as a personal connection to a large dance company is amazing. He taught me a lot as well, about the live as a dancer of Pilobolus and it was great to get to know him personally. Dance is a daily exploration for me. It seems that every new experience I have, my love for dance grows. I am very excited to try my hand at a larger scale choreographic experience for my senior New Dancemakers  project. I am also looking forward to working with Stephen Koplowitz and understanding his vision of site-specific work. Although I wouldn't call myself an artist, this statement is true. An artist's work is never done.