{"id":67339,"date":"2025-09-11T14:24:25","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T14:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/?p=67339"},"modified":"2026-04-16T07:21:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T07:21:45","slug":"akram-khan-company-at-25-memory-in-motion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/akram-khan-company-at-25-memory-in-motion\/","title":{"rendered":"Akram Khan Company at 25: Memory in Motion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7<\/strong><\/p>\n

This October, Akram Khan Company marks its 25th anniversary with a deeply personal season at Sadler\u2019s Wells \u2014 a homecoming and an offering. Two productions unfold across Sadler\u2019s Wells Theatre and its East London outpost: the UK premiere of Thikra: Night of Remembering<\/em> and the return of the beloved family work Chotto Desh<\/em>.<\/p>\n

At Sadler\u2019s Wells Theatre in Angel, Thikra: Night of Remembering<\/em> marks Akram Khan\u2019s final major creation as company founder \u2014 a collaboration with acclaimed Saudi visual artist Manal AlDowayan. A spiritual excavation of memory, ancestry, and ritual, Thikra<\/em> features an all-female international cast of contemporary and Bharatanatyam dancers, first unveiled in the desert landscape of AlUla earlier this year.\u00a0 Simultaneously, Chotto Desh<\/em> returns to enchant a new generation at Sadler\u2019s Wells East. Reimagined for younger audiences by director Sue Buckmaster, the piece distills Khan\u2019s signature storytelling \u2014 a vivid journey from Britain to Bangladesh, where childhood memories stir into dream.\u00a0Over a quarter-century, Akram Khan Company has redefined the contours of contemporary dance. Under Khan\u2019s artistic vision \u2014 rooted in kathak and expanded through the lens of modernity \u2014 the company has won international acclaim, shaping a language that is both ancestral and urgent.
\n\u201cMarking 25 years with Thikra<\/em> feels like returning home,\u201d said Khan. \u201cThis work is about what we remember, what we carry, and what we must finally let go. It\u2019s a tribute \u2014 to our past, to our people, to the stories that shaped us. And with Chotto Desh<\/em>, we pass those stories on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drawing from the mythologies and sacred practices of AlUla \u2014 the ancient Arabian city once linked to Europe via the incense trade \u2014 Thikra<\/em> meditates on legacy and continuity. The Arabic word itself means \u2018memory\u2019 or \u2018remembrance\u2019. Here, memory becomes action: an act of transmission, of healing, of survival. The production features original music by Aditya Prakash, sound design by Gareth Fry, lighting by Zeynep Kepekli, and dramaturgy by Blue Pieta. AlDowayan\u2019s artistic voice \u2014 present in major global collections including the British Museum and Centre Pompidou \u2014 brings a haunting visual depth to Khan\u2019s choreographic language.\u00a0For families, Chotto Desh<\/em> remains a luminous entry point into Khan\u2019s world. A story of identity, imagination, and intergenerational love, it combines kathak and contemporary movement with spoken word, animation, and music \u2014 a kaleidoscope of form and feeling.<\/p>\n

Sir Alistair Spalding CBE, Artistic Director of Sadler\u2019s Wells, reflects:
\n\u201cAkram has been central to our identity for two decades. These two works \u2014 Thikra<\/em> and Chotto Desh<\/em> \u2014 show why he remains one of the defining choreographic voices of our time.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddea<\/strong> Akram Khan Company \u2013 25 Jahre Erinnerung in Bewegung<\/strong><\/p>\n

Im Oktober feiert die Akram Khan Company ihr 25-j\u00e4hriges Bestehen mit einer au\u00dfergew\u00f6hnlichen Residenz am Sadler\u2019s Wells \u2013 ein k\u00fcnstlerisches Heimkommen und ein rituelles Innehalten. Zwei Produktionen bespielen sowohl das Haupttheater in Angel als auch Sadler\u2019s Wells East in Stratford: die UK-Premiere von Thikra: Night of Remembering<\/em> sowie die R\u00fcckkehr des vielfach gefeierten Familienst\u00fccks Chotto Desh<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Im Sadler\u2019s Wells Theatre pr\u00e4sentiert Akram Khan mit Thikra: Night of Remembering<\/em> seine letzte gro\u00dfe Arbeit als Gr\u00fcnder der Kompanie \u2013 eine Zusammenarbeit mit der renommierten saudischen K\u00fcnstlerin Manal AlDowayan. Mit einem rein weiblichen Ensemble aus Bharatanatyam- und zeitgen\u00f6ssischen T\u00e4nzerinnen f\u00fchrt Thikra<\/em> das Publikum in eine rituelle Landschaft der Erinnerung \u2013 tief verwurzelt in Spiritualit\u00e4t und kollektiver Geschichte.\u00a0Parallel dazu kehrt Chotto Desh<\/em> zur\u00fcck \u2013 diesmal nach Sadler\u2019s Wells East. Regisseurin Sue Buckmaster hat das St\u00fcck f\u00fcr ein junges Publikum neu adaptiert. Entstanden aus Khan\u2019s autobiografischem Solost\u00fcck DESH<\/em>, erz\u00e4hlt es poetisch von Herkunft, Tr\u00e4umen und Identit\u00e4t \u2013 zwischen Gro\u00dfbritannien und Bangladesch, zwischen Realit\u00e4t und Erinnerung.<\/p>\n

Seit einem Vierteljahrhundert pr\u00e4gt die Akram Khan Company die Sprache des zeitgen\u00f6ssischen Tanzes neu \u2013 mit einer \u00c4sthetik, die das klassische indische Kathak mit zeitgen\u00f6ssischer Bewegung verbindet und weltweit Ma\u00dfst\u00e4be setzt.
\n\u201eThikra<\/em> ist f\u00fcr mich ein Kreis, der sich schlie\u00dft\u201c, sagt Khan. \u201eEine pers\u00f6nliche Reflexion \u00fcber das, was wir erinnern, was wir weitertragen \u2013 und was wir loslassen m\u00fcssen. Dieses Werk ist eine Hommage an die Vergangenheit, an unsere Geschichten, an die Menschen, die uns gepr\u00e4gt haben. Und mit Chotto Desh<\/em> geben wir diese Geschichten weiter.\u201c<\/p>\n

Inspiriert von der mythischen Landschaft AlUlas \u2013 jener antiken Stadt auf den alten Handelswegen zwischen Arabien und Europa \u2013 fragt Thikra<\/em> nach Herkunft, Wandel und der Kraft des Erinnerns. Das arabische Wort \u201ethikra\u201c bedeutet Erinnerung \u2013 doch Khan begreift sie als Handlung: als Weitergabe, als Heilung, als kulturelles \u00dcberleben.\u00a0Die Produktion vereint Musik von Aditya Prakash, Sounddesign von Gareth Fry, Licht von Zeynep Kepekli und dramaturgische Begleitung von Blue Pieta. AlDowayans visuelle Handschrift \u2013 vertreten in Sammlungen wie dem British Museum, Centre Pompidou und Guggenheim \u2013 erg\u00e4nzt Khans choreografisches Vokabular mit eindringlicher Bildkraft.<\/p>\n

F\u00fcr Familien bietet Chotto Desh<\/em> einen poetischen Zugang zur Welt Akram Khans. Zwischen Tanz, Sprache, Animation und Musik entfaltet sich die Geschichte eines Jungen, der zwischen Kulturen aufw\u00e4chst \u2013 ber\u00fchrend, verspielt, universell.<\/p>\n

Sir Alistair Spalding CBE, K\u00fcnstlerischer Leiter von Sadler\u2019s Wells, sagt:
\n\u201eAkram ist seit zwei Jahrzehnten ein tragender Pfeiler unseres Programms. Diese beiden Werke \u2013 Thikra<\/em> und Chotto Desh<\/em> \u2013 zeigen eindr\u00fccklich, warum er zu den bedeutendsten choreografischen Stimmen unserer Zeit z\u00e4hlt.\u201c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 This October, Akram Khan Company marks its 25th anniversary with a deeply personal season at Sadler\u2019s Wells \u2014 a homecoming and an offering. Two productions unfold across Sadler\u2019s Wells Theatre and its East London outpost: the UK premiere of Thikra: Night of Remembering and the return of the beloved family work Chotto Desh. At […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3008,"featured_media":67340,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsroom"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67339"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67343,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67339\/revisions\/67343"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}