Akram Khan's global language of dance
Acclaimed dancer Akram Khan believes a cultural exchange of ideas is vital for his art. Diane Parkes spoke to him.
Akram Khan may be one of the UK’s most highly sought-after Asian choreographers but he knows that performing in Birmingham keeps him on his toes.
Akram, who brings his solo work Gnosis to the city’s Town Hall as part of International Dance Festival Birmingham, says local audiences have a thorough grounding in Asian dance.
A trained Kathak performer, Akram has blended classical North Indian with contemporary dance.
“In Birmingham, as we all know, there is a huge Indian audience, an Asian audience, but what is interesting is that it is a very well informed audience because artists like Nahid Siddiqui have been here so the audience have very high standards,” he says.
“There are some wonderful young dancers as well, like Sonia Sabri who is absolutely stunning.
“What is wonderful with the festival is that you have developed not just a contemporary but also a classical audience. So whenever you perform in Birmingham you also feel that ‘OK, these people know what they are about to see, so you better work hard and try your best’. It is almost like performing in India.”
Akram is just one of a host of artists from across the globe performing in this year’s IDFB, which runs from April 19 to May 15. Over the month-long festival the city will also stage Brisbane-based C!RCA, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, America’s Mark Morris and Brazilian Deborah Colker and many others.
Akram is a firm believer in cross-cultural exchanges, having admitted to being inspired as a dancer by Michael Jackson and having worked with a host of figures, including musician Nitin Sawhney, writer Hanif Kureishi, and sculptor Anthony Gormley, as well as choreographing part of Kylie Minogue’s Showgirl tour.
“The International Dance Festival Birmingham is a fascinating, very important thing because a lot of the festivals we have around the UK are predominantly showcasing British artists,” he says. “But it is this whole idea of exchange and collaboration, which is so important in today’s time.
“This festival allows that to happen, where people, artists who are trained here, and audiences get to see work from all over the world.
“I think this festival has really put Birmingham in the limelight and it is nice that it has slightly overshadowed London. And so it makes London work harder, because London – and I’m from London – assumes it is the centre of England, and it is not.
And that is the way the world is – London, New York, Paris and Tokyo assume they are the centre of the world. But now it is places like Cairo, places in the Middle East and Birmingham.
