in 2011, Desh met with immediate success around the world. Building on that, he created a version for children aged 7+ and their families, with the help of the theatre director Sue Buckmaster. Chotto Desh is a danced story which follows an adult delving back into his childhood memories. It explores the experiences of a child raised in the two radically different societies of Bangladesh and Britain. Beyond the coming-of-age story, it is an immersive show mixing different registers of dance, words, mime and video. It deftly plays with computer-generated images as the dancer climbs to the treetops, plays with an elephant and butterflies, or sets sail on a magical ship. Akram Khan has an unmatched talent for creating before our very eyes a world full of marvels, tempting us to follow him on a fantastical journey.

Source: Biennale de la Danse

Akram Khan is one of the most celebrated  and respected dance artists of today. In just over 19 years he has  created a body of work that has contributed significantly to the arts in  the UK and abroad. His reputation has been built on the success of  imaginative, highly accessible and relevant productions such as XENOS, Until the Lions, Kaash, iTMOi (in the mind of igor), DESH, Vertical Road, Gnosis and zero degrees.

As an instinctive and natural collaborator, Khan has been a magnet to  world-class artists from other cultures and disciplines. His previous  collaborators include the National Ballet of China, actress Juliette  Binoche, ballerina Sylvie Guillem, choreographers/dancers Sidi Larbi  Cherkaoui and Israel Galván, singer Kylie Minogue, indie rock band  Florence and the Machine, visual artists Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley  and Tim Yip, writer Hanif Kureishi and composers Steve Reich, Nitin  Sawhney, Jocelyn Pook and Ben Frost.

Khan’s work is recognised as being profoundly moving, in which his  intelligently crafted storytelling is effortlessly intimate and epic.  Described by the Financial Times as an artist “who speaks tremendously  of tremendous things”, a highlight of his career was the creation of a  section of the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony that was  received with unanimous acclaim.

As a choreographer, Khan has developed a close collaboration with  English National Ballet and its Artistic Director Tamara Rojo. He  created the short piece Dust, part of the Lest We Forget programme, which led to an invitation to create his own critically acclaimed version of the iconic romantic ballet Giselle.

Khan has been the recipient of numerous awards throughout his career  including the Laurence Olivier Award, the Bessie Award (New York Dance  and Performance Award), the prestigious ISPA (International Society for  the Performing Arts) Distinguished Artist Award, the Fred and Adele  Astaire Award, the Herald Archangel Award at the Edinburgh International  Festival, the South Bank Sky Arts Award and eight Critics’ Circle  National Dance Awards. Khan was awarded an MBE for services to dance in  2005. He is also an Honorary Graduate of University of London as well as  Roehampton and De Montfort Universities, and an Honorary Fellow of  Trinity Laban.

Khan is an Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells and Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, London and Curve, Leicester.

Source: Akram Khan Company

More information: akramkhancompany.net

In July 1999 in the foyer of the Queen  Elizabeth Hall in London, an animated and curiosity-filled conversation  took place between the young gifted dancer/choreographer Akram Khan and  an ambitious former dancer and just recently graduated arts manager  Farooq Chaudhry. That conversation laid the foundation stone for a  dynamic collaboration, culminating in the creation of Akram Khan Company  one year later.

Inspired by Akram Khan’s early training in the Indian classical dance  form Kathak, and the hybrid language that organically emerged when  Akram’s kathak training encountered contemporary dance in his teens, a  vision began to form, fuelled by a desire to learn and create through  collaboration with the very best people across all the disciplines in  the arts.

The rules were simple: take risks, think big and daring, explore the  unfamiliar, avoid compromise and tell stories through dance that are  compelling and relevant, with artistic integrity.

In just over twenty years Akram Khan Company  is now undisputedly one of the foremost innovative dance companies in  the world. The programmes range from kathak and modern solos to  artist-to-artist collaborations and ensemble productions. The company  has a major international presence and enjoys busy tours that reach out  to many cultures and peoples across the globe. Akram Khan has been the  recipient of numerous international dance awards, the most notable being  an Olivier Award for his solo production DESH in 2012. A  milestone in the company’s journey was the creation of a section of the  London Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in 2012. Akram Khan Company is an  associate artist at Sadler’s Wells Theatre and Mountview Academy of  Theatre Arts in London and Curve Theatre in Leicester.

Mission

Akram Khan Company produces thoughtful, provocative  and ambitious dance productions for the international stage. Akram Khan  takes human themes and works with others to take them to new and  unexpected places – embracing and collaborating with other cultures and  disciplines. The dance language in each production is rooted in Akram  Khan’s classical Kathak and modern dance training and his fascination  with storytelling. The work continually evolves to communicate ideas  that are intelligent, courageous and new, bringing with it international  acclaim and recognition as well as artistic and commercial success.

Source: Akram Khan Company

More information: akramkhancompany.net

Presented by Arte France, 24 IMAGES
Maison de la Danse, Lyon, France – 2017, 9th of december
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Artistic Direction and Original Choreography Akram Khan
Direction and Adaptation Sue Buckmaster (Theatre-Rites)

Music Composition Jocelyn Pook
Lighting Design Guy Hoare
Stories imagined by Karthika Naïr and Akram Khan
The grandmother’s fable in Chotto Desh is taken from the book The Honey Hunter
Written by Karthika Naïr, Sue Buckmaster and Akram Khan
Assistant Choreographer Jose Agudo
Grandmother’s voice Leesa Gazi
Jui’s voice Sreya Andrisha Gazi

Dancers Dennis Alamanos or Nicolas Ricchini

Producer Claire Cunningham on behalf of AKCT

Original Visual Design Tim Yip
Original Visual Animation created by Yeast Culture
Original Costume Supervisor Kimie Nakano

Sound Designer and AV Engineer Alex Stein
Music Engineer Steve Parr
Costume Reconstruction Advisor Martina Trottmann
Technical Manager Ed Yetton
Rehearsal Director Amy Butler
Stage Manager Dean Sudron

Painted Head Sequence devised by Damien Jalet with Akram Khan
‘Bleeding Soles’ lyrics written by Leesa Gazi
Singers Melanie Pappenheim, Sohini Alam, Jocelyn Pook (voice/viola/piano), Tanja Tzarovska, Jeremy Schonfield 

We gratefully acknowledge the artists who contributed to the original production of DESH by Akram Khan Company. 

Co-commissioned by MOKO Dance, Akram Khan Company,  Sadler’s Wells London, DanceEast, Théâtre de la Ville Paris, Mercat de  les Flors Barcelona, Biennale de la danse de Lyon 2016 and Stratford  Circus Arts Centre.

Supported by Arts Council England