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.
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.
Last semester, I took an eight-week Bharatanatyam class at UWM (another classical Indian dance form). When I began reading Akram Khan’s biography and dance history, I was instantly reminded of my experiences last semester. This is my first time, however, hearing of Kathak. I naively did not realize there were multiple classical Indian dance forms. I am curious if you guys have found any information about what led Khan to study Kathak over Bharatanatyam. In addition I am curious of what he thinks of Bharatanatyam as well as what distinguishes the two dance forms?
ReplyDeleteFrom what I read online, Bhraratanatyam was created in South India, whereas Kathak originated in North India. The two forms are fairly similar with a few differences in traditional costumes and instruments. I didn't find much about why he chose Kathak over Bhraratanatyam. His family originated from Bangladesh, which is the furthest East point of India, not necessarily North or South. Perhaps, this was the style others in his family had studied. I did find a performance from 2011 with DanceXchange, called aakash odedra 'rising'. In this, he performed a Kathak solo amongst other solos of Kathak and Bhraratanatyam. It seems they are perceived to have equal merit in Indian culture.
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