StepMother
He’s worked with Hanif Kureishi to produce a dance piece inspired by Arundhati Roy. But AKRAM KHAN doesn’t need to rely on literary friends to achieve greatness in his work. as Kelly Apter discovers.
enerally' speaking. home videos serve tvvo purposes: to remind parents hovv cute their children used to be. and to embarrass the hell otit ol' the kids in question. Fortunately. most are reserved for the privacy ol‘ the living room. No such luck for Akram Khan. In October 2002. he had to share his formative years with the whole ol‘ Britain. courtesy" of the South Bank Show. Dancing on a polished tloor. sol'a pushed to one side. a seven-y'ear-old Khan gets dovvn to Amii Stevvatt‘s 7(ls hit. 'Knock on Wood‘. Moving at lighting speed. he spins round the room. all elbovv s and knees. looking every inch the disco king. (‘ireat fun to vvatcli unless of course. it‘s you. ‘()h no. please don‘t.‘ says Khan. squirming at the memory ol‘ vvhat he calls ‘making a fool of my'sell". That the dancer/ choreographer should have any inhibitions lel‘t. alter all he's achieved. is surprising. Having danced at London‘s Queen Elizabeth Hall in l’ront ot' a barrage of celebrities (Michael Caine. Shakira and Jude Lavv are all big l'ansl surely" a simple disco dance is nothing. But then Khan takes his movement very seriously. All those vvho have seen his unique blend ol‘ contemporary dance and Indian Kathak vvill knovv the look that vvashes over him as he dances. it‘s as it he has been transported to another. more spiritual place. vvhere nothing else matters — a look not dissimilar to that worn by the seven- y'ear-old in the home video. ‘I vvouldn‘t say 1 felt it consciously at that age. btit in some
38 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE ‘94)} .‘
vvays live alvvays been able to e\pi'ess iiiysell best llt movement] says Khan. ‘l’ve never been much ol a talker oi an intellectual. I've alvvays been instinctual. llaviiig listened to him speak eloquently l'or over an hour. I beg to diller. Khan is an incredibly cerebral cliiireograpliei'. \\llH cliiiibs deep inside the vvoi‘k he is creating. By his ovvn admission. he can disctiss a nevv sliovv l'or anything up to a year beloi’e rehearsals begin. ()bviously technique plays its part garnered l'rom years ol disciplined Katliak study vviili liis guru. and horn the Northern School ol'('onteiiiporary l)anee -- btit Khan‘s appeal stems lrom soiiieiliiiig lai‘ iiioie pi'ol‘otind. 'l'ior me dance is very \[lll’lltldh he says. 'll l iiisi shovv technique. then it becomes almost mechanical. ()l course technique is impressive and it's an integral part ot Indian dance. btit vvliat makes it personal is liovv deep you go into it spiritually. The more I get iiiio Katliak in my perloi‘mance. the more I l‘eel like l‘m reaching (iodf
Khan‘s relationship vvitli Katbak dates back to his pic— school days. and he has continued to ’eat. sleep and breath it ever since. liai'ly l‘orays into public perlormance l'oetised purely on Indian dance. joining Ravi Shanka in a successliil stage production ol‘ Hie .limg/e Hook. and playing the young boy in Peter Brook's legendary lilm. .‘lH/IUb/Itll'tl/(l. But it vvas not until Khan discovered contemporary dance that he really started to shake things tip. .'\cliiev ing the highest degree mark ever avvarded at Northern ('ontemporary. he quickly realised
‘FOR ME DANCE IS VERY SPIRITUAL. IF I JUST SHOW TECHNIQUE, THEN IT BECOMES ALMOST MECHANICAL'