Description
Seismograph of the soul: There is a good reason why Akram Khan is known as a defining pacemaker of our time. After all, few choreographers have such a keen sense of the human psyche. Few, too, who sound the hidden depths as thoroughly as he does. Especially as Akram Khan – and this is what makes his work stand out – always puts dance in very specific contexts. Whether it be the First World War in XENOS, the Babylonian Gilgamesh epic in Outwitting the Devil, premiered at the COLOURS Festival 2019, or most recently nature ravaged by the climate crisis with Jungle Book Reimagined.
In summer 2025, Akram Khan will work with Gauthier Dance for the first time. His starting point will be excerpts from three productions that have become classics and were created on himself or Akram Khan Company. The title Turning of Bones not only alludes to a ritual of remembrance practised mainly in Madagascar – Famadihana, where people take the remains of their ancestors, wrapped in cloth, out of the graves to reconnect with their heritage. They rewrite the names on the shrouds, carry the bones over their heads and dance with them. Famadihana could also describe the approach to this production, in which Akram Khan immerses himself in the history of his own choreographic works. The programme combines reimagined scenes from the group piece iTMOi (In the Mind of Igor), created in 2013 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps, the striking „head dance“ from the full-length solo DESH about his father's homeland, Bangladesh, as well as the poignant pas de deux Mud of Sorrow, digitally premiered during the height of the pandemic in the winter of 2021. The selection focuses on the feeling of discontent and the search for meaning that define our increasingly disoriented society. The excerpts are linked by newly composed music by Aditya Prakash and culminate in a new creation that also gives the evening its title: Turning of Bones. Its source of inspiration is Khan's short film INSIRGENTS from 2023, which deals with the phenomenon of the mob and how violence is passed on from generation to generation.
In contrast to the elaborate stage designs and settings of the original versions, Akram Khan is aiming for a completely different, more abstract mood for the evening, placing dance and pure emotion at the centre. It is clear that this uncompromising, truly challenging approach depends upon an ideally matched company such as Gauthier Dance as well as perfect conditions for intensive rehearsals. A requirement that has already been taken care of. The rehearsal schedule culminates in a two-week residency at the wonderful Orsolina 28 Art Foundation in Moncalvo (Piedmont) right ahead of the premiere ...
