A night of gothic wonderment with the English National Ballet who do well to continue their collaboration with acclaimed Bengali choreographer, Akram Khan (from your Bengali critic 😉). First shown at this venue back in 2021 Creature is a returning touring production tackling familiar themes of power, religion, freedom and the limits of man and science. A cross between early science fiction and mainstream superhero films, it’s refreshing to see ballet tackle popular cultural issues.
Kaash returns to the Southbank Centre for Pandit Ravi Shankar’s 100thbirthday celebration with sophisticated ferocity. Rooted in the South Asian classical dance form Kathak, the show delights and wonders senses accustomed to western rhythm. His first full-length play Kaash is an important milestone for the now distinguished Akram Khan and it is a treat to see it again today to see how it all began. It is comforting that his signature remains unchanged in his steady devotion to accessible contemporary world-class dance drawing from his heritage in the subcontinent of India.
The Buta Festival of Azerbaijani Arts returns to London, showcasing some of the country’s finest exports. At Sadler‘s Wells that means uniting Azerbaijani pianist Shahin Novrasli with English dancer Akram Khan for a night of jazz and dancing. Each evening Khan is accompanied by a different set of collaborators for improvised dances set to Novrasli‘s jazz.
Akram Khan and Israel Galvan have collaborated to bring the world of dance TOROBAKA. The piece fuses Khan’s Khathak work and Galvan’s flamenco technique to create a completely new language together. The two have clearly found a very strong dialogue between the styles and the moments where they converse together are the most electrifying in the production. This could have been enhanced by the fact Khan speaks no Spanish and Galvan, little English but, as Gavlan is quoted in the programme “We could understand each other very easily through dance”.
