Akram Khan (dancer)
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| Akram Khan MBE |
|
|---|---|
| Born | July 29, 1974 Wimbledon, South West London, United Kingdom |
| Residence | London, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Ethnicity | Bangladeshi |
| Education | Contemporary Dance Performing Arts |
| Alma mater | De Montfort University Northern School of Contemporary Dance |
| Occupation | Dancer, Choreographer |
| Years active | 1987-present |
| Organization | Akram Khan Company |
| Style | Contemporary dance, Kathak |
| Religion | Islam |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Akram Khan, MBE (born 29 July 1974) is a dancer whose background is rooted in his classical kathak training and contemporary dance.
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[edit] Career
Khan was born in London into a family of Bangladeshi origin. He began dancing and trained in the classical Indian dance form of Kathak at the age of seven. He studied with Sri Pratap Pawar, later becoming his disciple. He began his stage career at the age of 14, when he was cast in Peter Brook’s Shakespeare Company production of Mahabharata, touring the world between 1987 and 1989 and appearing in the televised version of the play broadcast in 1988.[1]
Following later studies in Contemporary Dance at De Montfort University[2] and Performing Arts at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and a period working with Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’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. His first full-length work Kaash, a collaboration with Anish Kapoor and Nitin Sawhney, was performed at the Edinburgh Festival in 2002.[3]
As choreographer-in-residence and later associate artist at the Southbank Centre,[4] 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. 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.[5]
In 2008, he co-starred with Juliette Binoche in a dance-drama piece called in-i at the National Theatre, London.[6]
[edit] Other work
Khan was invited by Kylie Minogue in summer of 2006 to choreograph a section of her Showgirl concert. 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.[7] He has made pieces for the Ballet Boyz and Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan.[8]
[edit] Awards and nominations
Khan has been the recipient of numerous awards:
- 2000: Jerwood Foundation Choreography Award.[9]
- 2000: Outstanding Newcomer to Dance Award from from Time Out Live[10]
- 2000: Outstanding Newcomer to Dance Award at the National Dance Awards presented by the Critics' Circle.[11]
- 2002: Best Modern Choreography at the National Dance Awards presented by the Critics' Circle.[12]
- 2002: Nominated for a Nijinsky Award for Best Newcomer.[13]
- 2002: Dance Magazine's 25 to Watch.[14]
- 2004: The International Movimentos Tanzpreis for Most Promising Newcomer in Dance.[15]
- 2004: Akram Khan received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from De Montfort University for his contribution to the UK arts community.[16]
- 2005: An MBE for his services to dance.[17]
- 2005: A South Bank Show Award.[18]
- 2005: Winner of the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Male or Female Artist (Modern).[19]
- 2006: Zero Degrees - Akram Khan/ Sidi Larbi Cherckaoui/ Antony Gormley/ Nitin Sawhney - was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Awards (Best New Dance Production).[20]
- 2007: Excellence in International Dance Award by the International Theatre Institute.[21]
- 2007: Best Male Dancer in the annual Helpmann Awards, Sydney, Australia.[22]
- 2007: The Award for “Best Choreography in a Ballet or Dance Work” for zero degrees at the Helpmann Awards, Sydney, Australia.[23]
- 2010: Akram Khan Company dancers - Eulalia Ayguade Farro (Vertical Road, Bahok) & Yoshie Sunahata (Gnosis) - nominated for Outstanding Female Performance (Modern) at the Critics Circle National Dance Awards 2010.[24]
- 2010: Nominated for a South Bank Show Award.[25]
- 2010: Winner of the The Age Critics Award for outstanding new work for Vertical Road at the Melbourne International Arts Festival.[26]
- 2011: Winner of the Distinguished Artist Award at the International Society for the Performing Arts [27]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Akram Khan: 'You have to become a warrior'". The Independent (London). 6 November 2009. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/interviews/akram-khan-you-have-to-become-a-warrior-1815314.html.
- ^ http://www.dmu.ac.uk/success/television-adverts/akram-khan.jsp
- ^ http://www.britbangla.net/successprofiles.html#akram BritBangla | British Bengali Success Stories - Akram Khan
- ^ http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/about-us/history-and-archive/southbank-centre-history
- ^ http://www.sadlerswells.com/page/associate-artists
- ^ [1]
- ^ Blanchard, Tamsin (1 March 2008). "Akram Khan's body language". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/donotmigrate/3671551/Akram-Khans-body-language.html.
- ^ Roy, Sanjoy (23 September 2009). "Step-by-step guide to dance: Akram Khan". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/sep/22/dance-guide-akram-khan.
- ^ Ferguson, Stephanie (20 November 2000). "Akram Khan Company". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2000/nov/20/dance.artsfeatures.
- ^ http://www.britishcouncil.org/china-arts-drama-bahok2.htm
- ^ http://www.britishcouncil.org/china-arts-drama-bahok2.htm
- ^ http://www.culturebase.net/artist.php?1146
- ^ http://www.britishcouncil.org/china-arts-drama-bahok2.htm
- ^ http://www.britishcouncil.org/china-arts-drama-bahok2.htm
- ^ http://www.britishcouncil.org/china-arts-drama-bahok2.htm
- ^ http://www.nscd.ac.uk/view.aspx?id=298
- ^ "Birthday Honours: MBE (Hopkins - Moore)". The Independent (London). 11 June 2005. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/birthday-honours-mbe-hopkins--moore-493731.html.
- ^ http://www.britishcouncil.org/china-arts-dance-ini.htm
- ^ http://www.nationaldanceawards.com/dance2005/modern_artist.htm
- ^ "Laurence Olivier Awards the full nominations". The Times (London). 18 January 2006. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article789427.ece.
- ^ http://www.sadlerswells.com/page/associate-artists#
- ^ http://www.australianstage.com.au/20070712507/news/sydney/nominations-for-2007-helpmann-awards.html
- ^ http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/olivier_awards/past_winners/view/item98373/Olivier-Winners-2006/
- ^ http://balletnews.co.uk/2010/11/05/national-dance-awards-finalists-announced/
- ^ http://www.skyarts.co.uk/skyarts/south-bank-sky-arts-awards-2011-nominees-announced/
- ^ "And now ... it's the second annual M-ie awards". The Age (Melbourne). 14 November 2010. http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/and-now--its-the-second-annual-mie-awards-20101113-17rr8.html.
- ^ http://www.ispa.org/component/content/article/67-awardwinners/427-2011distinguishedartistaward
[edit] External links
- Akram Khan Company website
- Archive film of Akram Khan Dance Company performing Kaash ("If")in 2003 at Jacob's Pillow
- Poulton, Lindsay (9 December 2009). "Dancer Akram Khan: 'My body is my voice'". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/video/2009/dec/09/akram-khan-dance. Retrieved 9 December 2009.
- Crisp, Clement (17 November 2009). "Akram Khan, Sadler’s Wells, London". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/57218572-d39f-11de-8caf-00144feabdc0.html. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
- Patterson, Christina (6 November 2009). "Akram Khan: 'You have to become a warrior'". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/interviews/akram-khan-you-have-to-become-a-warrior-1815314.html. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- Roy, Sanjoy (23 September 2009). "Step-by-step guide to dance: Akram Khan". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/sep/22/dance-guide-akram-khan. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
- Acocella, Joan (23 October 2006). "Hard and Fast: What an Indian tradition can do for modern dance". New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/10/23/061023crda_dancing. Retrieved 23 October 2006.
- Gilbert, Jenny (20 April 2003). "An audience with the rhythm king". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/akram-khan-purcell-room-londonbrrandom-dance-company-lilian-baylis-theatre-london-595212.html. Retrieved 20 April 2003.
- Mackrell, Judith (4 April 2001). "All the right moves". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2001/apr/04/artsfeatures2. Retrieved 4 April 2001.
