Khan was born in London with parents from Bangladesh. Training from a young age in classical Indian dance form Kathak, studying with renowned teacher Sri Pratap Pawarwhich, he would later have a large influence on his dance style informing his practice and creating a unique body of movement. For two years, at the age of 13, Khan toured with Peter Brook’s Shakespeare Company performing Mahabharata, one of the Sanskrit epic narratives of India.
Later training at De Montfort University and London School of Contemporary Dance, the contemporary dance world opened up possibilities, and Khan was able to extend his practice working with Anne Teresa Keersmaeker’s X-group project, a prestigious choreographic platform, inspiring his solo-based performances in the 1990s.
It was during this period of 4 years, that I discovered that my external body was my internal voice- aged 20
In 2000, Khan began his company: Akram Khan Company presenting his first full length work Kaash at the Edinburgh Festival in 2002. There have been a variety of approaches Khan has taken toward delivering work to audiences. He is defined in his unique style by faithfully blending both kathak and contemporary dance, and I wonder whether the incremental choreographic development process has been one that has assured the maintenance of both styles in his movement practice.
It seems Khan prefers to keep things on a smaller scale, most works using a minimal amount of dancers. Solos, duets and trios dominate his work as does a strong point of collaboration. It encouraged his own performance strengths and led him to a point in 2008 where Khan decided to not appear in any of his performances from then on.
Interestingly, when asked what his advice would be to young dancers in an interview with The Independent, Khan said: “don’t…There’s an element of truth in it,” he says. “You have to become a warrior and you have to give your body up. There was a point, when, for a year, I practised eight, 10, hours a day. It was in an asbestos garage of my father’s. There was a cement floor. There was a point when you were crying, but after a while you get used to the pain, so you have to push yourself further.” Does this turn me off? Quite the opposite. Masochistic? Maybe.
I was lucky enough to see Khan perform Sacred Monsters with Sylvie Guillem in the Adelaide Festival in 2006. It was my first exposure to both artists, and I remember Khan’s style being fluid, working through the music, occasionally speaking forth, encouraging a one-way dialogue with his audience. The thing that strikes me most about his biography is how soon he shifted into choreography, and how he developed so much of his own work on a small scale before moving into something bigger… it’s inspiring and encouraging to think of developing things continually on a small scale.
So that’s it for Monday’s Mentor this week!
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