| 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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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]
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]
Khan has been the recipient of numerous awards: