Award winning choreographer and performer Akram Khan takes audiences on a surreal journey inspired by his homeland Bangladesh
DESH is a new full-length contemporary solo dance performance and the most personal work to date, from celebrated choreographer and performer, Akram Khan. DESH, meaning ‘homeland’ in Bengali, draws on multiple tales of land, nation, resistance and converges them into the body and voice of one man trying to find his balance in an unstable world. The production won the Olivier Award for ‘Best New Dance Production, UK 2012’.
Moving between Britain and Bangladesh, Khan weaves threads of memory, experience and myth into a surreal world of surprising connection. At once intimate and epic, 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 in transformation and survival.
“In a world where things are increasingly disposable, where aesthetics are dictated by trends, and quality by ephemera, I wanted to go back to my origin to a certain extent, in order to find and create something that would be an experience of lasting value,” comments Khan. “I am fascinated by water inside the earth. It is the core principle of the way I think and move, fluidity within form… and Bangladesh has an abundance of both water and earth. It is these two factors that the people of Bangladesh continuously depend upon to build their lives with and against.”
For this production, Khan teams up with Oscar-winning visual artist Tim Yip (Production Designer for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), fellow Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist lighting designer Michael Hulls, writer and poet Karthika Nair and Olivier award-winning composer Jocelyn Pook.
Born in London into a family of Bangladeshi origin, Khan began dancing at seven and studied with the renowned kathak dancer and teacher Sri Pratap Pawar.
Khan’s notable company works are bahok (2008), originally produced in collaboration with National Ballet of China; Variations (2006), a production with London Sinfonietta in celebration of Steve Reich’s 70th birthday; ma (2004), with text by Hanif Kureishi; and Kaash (2002), a collaboration with artist Anish Kapoor and composer Nitin Sawhney.
In 2006, Khan was invited by Kylie Minogue to choreograph a section of her Showgirl concert. He was also chosen to choreograph a section of the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony. Khan’s latest contemporary ensemble work Vertical Road (2010) and recent creation Gnosis (2009), have received critical acclaim and continue to tour worldwide.
He has been the recipient of numerous awards throughout his career including the Laurence Olivier Award, the prestigious ISPA (International Society for the Performing Arts) Distinguished Artist Award, South Bank Sky Arts Award, UK Critics’ Circle National Dance Award and The Age Critics’ Award (Australia). Khan was awarded an MBE for services to dance in 2005.
DESH
Macau Cultural Centre, Grand Auditorium
June 20, 2014
8pm
Tickets: MOP250, 200, 150 and 100
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