Who is Akram Khan?

• • Khan was born in London in 1974
  • His family are Bangladeshi meaning he is dual nationality
  • He started dancing at the age of 7

  His dance training began with Kathak –a traditional Indian style of dance
• • Attended Rutlish High School and studied A Levels in Bengali and Maths
  • He went on to study Contemporary Dance at DE Montfort University in 1994
  • Transferred after 2 years to Northern Contemporary Dance School to study ‘Performing Arts’
  • He graduated with the highest marks in performance ever awarded !!
• • Khan’s mother encouraged him towards a Dance degree
  • She introduced him to Bengali folk dancing at an early age then Kathak
  • She had taken him to see Ballet as a child but he fell asleep!
  • He was confused by the contemporary/classical side of dance as he had only studied Kathak himself
• Abstract

  Kathak

  Repetition

  Arms being gestural

  Mics in dynamics
• Things that increased his audience:

  • performed at the Olympics
  • worked w/ national ballets globally
  • was on the Netflix show "Move"
  • his use of collaborations