Akram Khan - Stylistic Features

Akram Khan - Stylistic Features

1. Collaboration

   • Keen to collaborate with people to understand new ways of creating material.
   • 'Collaboration is a form of Communication'
   • Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui
     • Nitin Sawhney
     • Anthony Gormley

2. Martial Arts

   • AKram Khan went on a trip with Larbi, they found a common interest in 'The matrix'
   • Particularly evident in: 'Attack and Block'
     • Akram Khan walks towards Larbi swiping his arm towards Larbi who then catches and 'Blocks' this gesture

3. Exploring energy routes

4. Extreme speed

   • Cutting and Splicing movements
   • Sharp and Articulate gestures
     • Usually in the torso and the arms
   • E.G. Rush 2000 - circling arms forward begins slow then as the accumulative canon builds up the swings get faster.
     • Sense of falling - reinforce subject matter

5. Improvisation and chance based techniques

   • Motif and development
     • Repetition and re-order
     • Accumulation and fragmentation
   • E.G Zero Degrees - 2005- Section 2 Arms, the placement of the gestures are clearly improvised, however this movement is later developed from a static position to a travelling sequence of rolls.

6. Juxtaposition of complexity and simplicity

   • Linear pathways and formations
   • Complex kathak - E.G. Sufi turns

7. KATHAK

   • Khans dance training is Kathak and therefore a common movement feature is Kathak movements.
     • The feet propell
     • Travelling using Sufi Turns
     • Gestures for added interest
     • Elements are pure but mainly a combination of contemporary forms