Akram Hossain Khan, MBE ( bn, আকরাম হুসেইন খান) (born 29 July 1974) is an English dancer and choreographer of Bangladeshi descent. His background is rooted in his classical

kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

training and contemporary dance.

Career

Khan was born in Lambeth, London, England, into a family from

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

, Bangladesh. He began dancing and trained in the classical South Asian dance form of

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

at the age of seven. He studied with Pratap Pawar, later becoming his disciple. He began his stage career in the ''Adventures of Mowgli'' tour 1984–1985 produced by the Academy of Indian Dance, now Akademi South Asian Dance. At the age of 13, he was cast in

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Sha ...

's Shakespeare Company production of ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

'', touring the world between 1987 and 1989 and appearing in the televised version of the play broadcast in 1988. Following later studies in Contemporary Dance at

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...

Akram Khan and Performing Arts at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and a period working with

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker Anne Teresa, Baroness De Keersmaeker (, born 1960 in Mechelen, Belgium, grew up in Wemmel) is a contemporary dance choreographer. The dance company constructed around her, , was in residence at La Monnaie in Brussels from 1992 to 2007. Biograph ...

's Brussels based X-Group project, he began presenting solo performances of his work in the 1990s. In August 2000, he launched Akram Khan Company, founded alongside former dancer Farooq Chaudhry. His first full-length work ''Kaash'', a collaboration with

Anish Kapoor Sir Anish Mikhail Kapoor (born 12 March 1954) is a British-Indian sculptor specializing in installation art and conceptual art. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor attended the elite all-boys Indian boarding school The Doon School, before moving to the UK t ...

and

Nitin Sawhney Nitin Sawhney , D.Mus (; born 1964) is a British musician, producer and composer. A recipient of the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, among multiple international awards throughout his career. Sawhney's work combines Asian a ...

, was performed at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

in 2002. Akram Khan As choreographer-in-residence and later associate artist at the Southbank Centre, he presented a recital with Pandit Birju Maharaj and Sri Pratap Pawar; and ''A God of Small Tales'', a piece for mature women for which he collaborated with writer

Hanif Kureishi Hanif Kureishi (born 5 December 1954) is a British playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker and novelist of South Asian and English descent. In 2008, ''The Times'' included Kureishi in its list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945. Early l ...

. He remained an associate artist at the Southbank Centre until April 2005, the first non-musician to be afforded this status, and is currently an associate artist at Sadler's Wells Theatre. Akram Khan In 2005, he was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2005 New Year Honours New Year Honours were granted in the United Kingdom and New Zealand at the start of 2005. Among these in the UK were knighthoods awarded to Mike Tomlinson, the educationalist; Derek Wanless, who led a review of the National Health Service; an ...

for his services to dance. In 2008, he co-starred with

Juliette Binoche Juliette Binoche (; born 9 March 1964) is a French actress and dancer. She has appeared in more than sixty feature films and has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Silver Bear, ...

in a dance-drama piece called ''in-i'' at the Royal National Theatre, London. Akram Khan In summer 2006, Khan was invited by Kylie Minogue to choreograph a section of her Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour. Khan appeared as a huge projection behind the singer as she performed. The songs were set in an Indian temple scenario, inspired by a trip Minogue made to Sri Lanka. He has made pieces for the Ballet Boyz and Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan. Akram Khan Company performing Vertical Road at Curve Theatre in November 2010

Akram Khan Company performing Vertical Road at Curve Theatre in November 2010

Khan and his dance company performed at the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony. Live music was provided by

Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé, ( ; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian father ...

singing " Abide With Me". In 2014, he choreographed for a ballet company for the first time, which was a World War I-themed ballet titled ''Dust'', for the English National Ballet. Khan and Tamara Rojo danced the lead roles. The Manchester International Festival announced a co-production of '' Giselle'' between themselves English National Ballet and Sadler's Wells Theatre that was directed by Khan and performed at the Palace Theatre, Manchester in September 2016. The critically acclaimed production went on tour to

Bristol Hippodrome The Bristol Hippodrome () is a theatre located in The Centre, Bristol, England, United Kingdom with seating on three levels giving a capacity of 1,951. It frequently features shows from London's West End when they tour the UK, as well as re ...

, the

Mayflower Theatre Mayflower Theatre (formerly the Gaumont Theatre and originally The Empire Theatre) is a Grade II listed theatre in the city centre of Southampton, England, with a capacity of 2,300. It features West End theatre shows when they tour the United Ki ...

, Southampton and Sadler's Wells Theatre, London later in that year. "Since its formation, Akram Khan Company has become undisputedly one of the foremost innovative dance companies in the world. Khan has become a global icon for his use of collaboration, ensemble production, and especially his unique mix of Kathak and contemporary movement. 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." In June 2020, Khan had an online conversation with theatre critic and scholar

Octavian Saiu Professor Octavian Saiu is a scholar and professional theatre critic. Education Octavian Saiu received his PhD in Theatre Studies from National University of Theatre and Film (NUTF) in Romania and completed another PhD in Comparative Literatu ...

. At the end, Saiu asked Khan to send their viewers a direct message for that critical moment during the pandemic. Talking about the importance of moving in a physical and spiritual sense, Khan invited everyone to "take that first step". He has two children as noted on the pbs show Articulate.

Awards, nominations and recognition

References

External links

Akram Khan Company websiteArchive film of Akram Khan Dance Company performing Kaash ("If") in 2003 at Jacob's Pillow
*Mackrell, Judith
All the right moves
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. 4 April 2001 *Gilbert, Jenny
An audience with the rhythm king
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

''. 20 April 2003 *Acocella, Joan
Hard and Fast: What an Indian tradition can do for modern dance
''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''. 23 October 2006 *Crisp, Clement
Akram Khan, Sadler’s Wells, London
''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

''. 17 November 2009 *Poulton, Lindsay
Dancer Akram Khan: 'My body is my voice'
''

''. 9 December 2009 *Mackerell, Judith
MoveTube: Why Akram Khan will command the Olympic stadium
''

''. 27 July 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Akram Living people English people of Bangladeshi descent English male dancers Contemporary dancers Helpmann Award winners National Dance Award winners People from Wimbledon, London Alumni of De Montfort University Members of the Order of the British Empire Bangladeshi male dancers Bangladeshi choreographers 1974 births

Career

Awards, nominations and recognition

See also

References

External links