Akram Khan's Influences

Akram Khan's Influences

1. Jonathan Burrows

   • Modern dance influence
   • Key influence to Khan as he helped him understand how to mic Kathak with contemporary dance
   • Gesture, rhythm and timing where important to Burrows's works.
   • Burrows's 'Both Sitting Duet' links heavily to Khan's work 'Zero Degrees'
   • Khan worked with Burrows and Anne De Keersmaeker after graduation on based X-Group project

2. Sir Peter Brook

   • Theatre and film influence
   • While Khan was performing with the Academy of Indian Dance in 1984, Khan was spotted by Peter Brook.
   • Khan went on tour with Peter Brook in a production of Mahabharata
   • Brook created a multi-national company of actors, dancers and musicians
   • Influenced Khan and made him think about how to creat works, Khan says how brook's work isn't about words, but in between the words and the way he see things.
   • Brook was a very influential director, he broke every rule in theatre, he stripped performances and left the stage bare, which allowed the audience's imagination to do the work
   • Brook also taught Khan about mixing simplicity with complexity

3. Pratap Pawar

   • Kathak influence
   • Kathak was the second dance style that Khan ever learnt, he begin training in Kathak at age 7
   • Pawar has a personal style that is unique, unostentatious, serene and characterised by impeccable technique that blends precision in footwork with aesthetics and imagery.
   • A key idea that Pawer made stick with Khan was 'Akram don't mix modern dance in Kathak; you may use Kathak for modern dance.'
   • Pawer also helped Khan with his identity issues whilst growing up, he made his life easier and meaningful.

4. His Culture

   • His family are Bangladeshi, which means he is dual nationality
   • He was taught Bengali for dance by his mother from age 3
   • He started training in Kathak at age 7
   • He had a real love for Indian music

5. Anne De Keersmaeker

   • Modern dance influence
   • Khan worked with De Keersmaeker and Jonathan Burrows after graduation on based X-Group project