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Akram – This name means ‘One who follows the stars’ in Bengali, but Akram Khan has become a star himself. He is recognized, if not as the best, then definitely as one of the brightest representatives of contemporary dance in the world, he has worked under the guidance of many excellent choreographers until he found the ideal cooperation partner – himself. Khan’s choreography is a revolution on the contemporary dance scene. Each of his performances is an event that audiences on all continents are waiting for. “The Jungle Book: Rewritten” is now on a world tour.
It is a great luck that Latvian audiences get to know the work of the famous choreographer, starting with this ballet, because the whole family can go to this performance together – and it should definitely be done! “Jungle Book: Rewritten”, already performed and warmly welcomed on the most famous stages of the world, will visit the stage of the Great Hall of Daile Theater on April 10, 11 and 12.
Akram Khan’s life story started before his birth. Akram’s parents emigrated to Great Britain in 1974, fleeing from the hostilities that were ravaging Indostan; they were already expecting a son and the baby was born in Wimbledon. What is an essential and symbolic fact: all of Khan’s creative handwriting is a synthesis of two cultures equally close to him – Asian and European – it was formed in search of a universal language – so expressive that everyone will understand it, and so beautiful that everyone’s heart will die in admiration and delight . Having learned the classical Indian temple dance Kathak as a child, Akram Khan enrolled in the North of England
Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds and graduated with the highest grade in the institution’s history. He also appeared on the stage as a child – and immediately with the main role: he was Mowgli himself in the performance of the London Indian Dance Academy. At the age of 13, he participated in the cult production – Peter Brook’s nine-hour long “Mahabharata” and starred in its TV version. He later developed his skills at De Montfort University in Leicester and collaborated with the great Belgian dancer and choreographer Anna Therese de Kiersmaeker. Has he also thought about classical ballet? Yes. At the age of 19, he watched Baryšnikova and
Nureyev’s recordings, having gone to the first barre lesson full of hope, ready to win hearts… “It turned out the other way around,” now Akram Khan laughs. “That ended my ballet career.” And the career path of a ballet master began. First, he studied the possibilities of his own body and created solo numbers just for himself. Later, he founded the contemporary dance collective “Akram Khan Company” – changing its composition from project to project, choosing the best, most talented ones from thousands of applicants. At the beginning of this century, Han already had all the possible British critics’ awards, he had become the brightest asset of the contemporary culture of Misty Albion. The Queen presented him with the Order of the British Empire. The great French ballerina Sylvie Guillaume approached Akram with a request to create something for her – “as a result I came to an understanding of classical ballet and the classical body in it”. He continued to dance by himself, danced wonderfully – and only in 2019, at the age of 45, he announced that he would no longer take on leading roles. He already has the Laurence Olivier Award and the “Benois de la Danse”, but there are no higher level award dances at Olympus at all…
Akram Khan’s army of admirers is huge. Some have enthusiastically followed him since the first performances. Others have seen and loved his choreographic version of “Žižele” for life. Some go even further, proclaiming Akram Khan as the dancing guru, the Teacher of the new spirituality. The ballet “The Jungle Book: Rewritten” is like a balm for the souls of all of them. It is not only an impressive example of contemporary art. It is a new vision, revising the canons of history. It is a manifesto. However, if you manage to encourage the choreographer to be frank, Akram Khan will admit that he started to think of his “Jungle Book” also remembering himself, a ten-year-old dancer; loving Kipling and Disney cartoons; thinking about his children, with whom he is interested in discussing everything that happens in the modern world.
