Until the Lions

source: akramkhancompanynet
“As in many myths, the female characters are often the unsung heroes, the figures of strength and imagination and endurance. It is their unsung stories in particular that still haunt me today.” – Akram Khan

Award-winning choreographer and dancer Akram Khan presents his latest full-length production, Until the Lions. In this partial adaptation of poet Karthika Naïr’s book Until the Lions: Echoes from the Mahabharata, an original reworking of the epic Mahabharata, Khan uses kathak and contemporary dance to tell the tale of Amba, a princess abducted on her wedding day and stripped of her honour, who invokes the gods to seek revenge.

In an epic theatrical piece, Khan explores the notion and the physical expression of gender, bringing together some of the stellar artistic team behind his solo DESH: writer Karthika Naïr, visual artist Tim Yip, lighting designer Michael Hulls and dramaturg Ruth Little.

Khan performs himself alongside two remarkable female dancers, Ching-Ying Chien and Christine Joy Ritter, and four live musicians: singers Sohini Alam and David Azurza, percussionist Yaron Engler and musician Joseph Ashwin.
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source: youtube
Avec Until the Lions, le chorégraphe Akram Khan creuse sa veine narrative en renouant avec la grande fresque du Mahabharata. Le spectacle pour trois danseurs (deux femmes aux côtés d’Akram Khan) et quatre musiciens s’enracine dans le livre de Karthika Naïr, collaboratrice de Khan, Until the Lions : Echoes From the Mahabharata. Elle s’est concentrée sur un épisode : celui d’une jeune fille nommée Amba, qui aime Shalva, mais est choisie par Bheeshma, qui a fait vœu de célibat. Et le combat sera féroce et sans merci. Dans la chorégraphie d’Akram Khan, qui se révèle ici une fois de plus un danseur fulgurant, les courses et les étreintes sont sans cesse balayées par la chasse et la mort. Avec cette pièce, le chorégraphe retrouve une expérience de jeunesse, celle qui le fit rencontrer Peter Brook en 1987 (il avait 13 ans) pour sa mise en scène du Mahabharata. Fil de vie, ligne de danse, transmission d’une mémoire.
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source: mercatflorscat

Akram Khan es uno de los coreógrafos más aclamados y respetados de la danza actual. En poco más de una década su trabajo ha contribuido de manera significativa al mundo de las artes y la cultura en el Reino Unido y en el mundo. Su reputación se ha fundamentado en el éxito de producciones imaginativas, accesibles y relevantes como DESH, iTMOi, Vertical Road, Gnosis y zero degrees, varias de las cuales se han podido ver en Barcelona.
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source: akramkhancompanynet

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 fourteen 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 currently practitioner-in-residence at University of the Arts London, and enjoys artistic associations with Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, MC2: Grenoble in France and other leading venues and festivals around the world.

vision
Akram Khan Dance Company journeys across boundaries to create uncompromising artistic narratives.

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.