Choreographer Akram Khan to dance at Kalaa Utsavam 2024
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Renowned dancer-choreographer Akram Khan is coming out of dance retirement for Gigenis – The Generation Of The Earth.
PHOTO: ESPLANADE – THEATRES ON THE BAY
SINGAPORE – Acclaimed British choreographer Akram Khan will be coming out of dance retirement to perform in Gigenis – The Generation Of The Earth. This Esplanade co-production is one of the tentpole productions of Kalaa Utsavam – Indian Festival of Arts, which returns to the arts centre from Nov 15 to 24.
Early-bird tickets go on sale on Sept 26 at 10am.
The Esplanade has developed a good relationship with Khan, who first danced on its stage in 2007 with legendary French dancer Sylvie Guillem and whose company staged Jungle Book Reimagined at the Esplanade Theatre in March.
Gigenis, however, is an independent project which features six other renowned dancers rooted in Indian traditions and seven musicians. Besides the kathak-trained Khan, the performers include bharatanatyam dancer Mavin Khoo, odissi soloist Sirikalyani Adkoli and Kapila Venu, a rare female practitioner of kutiyattam, a Sanskrit dance theatre form that dates back more than 2,000 years.
Producer V.M. Sai Akileshwar notes that it is very unusual to have such expert practitioners of different classical Indian dance forms on the same stage and they have been brought together in a show which explores identities and heritage. “Gigenis is Khan’s look at traditionalism and he is asking why we are losing our connection with Earth and our mythology.”
Singapore will be the only Asian stop for the work, which premiered in France in August.
The 2024 festival will also offer a wide range of workshops for both practitioners and the public, from serious dance workshops to parent-child yoga sessions. Mr Akileshwar adds: “We don’t usually get such a wealth of artistes and they were open to doing classes.”
Contemporary dance fans will also want to check out Chi Udaka by Australian groups Taikoz and Lingalayam, which brings together Japanese taiko drums and the dance forms of bharatanatyam and kuchipudi.
Chi Udaka is a production melding Japanese taiko drumming and classical Indian dances.
PHOTO: ESPLANADE – THEATRES ON THE BAY
The festival strives to strike a balance between artistic expression and mass appeal, says Mr Akileshwar, thus there are also more mainstream acts, especially in the music genres that will appeal across ages and languages.
Chennai-based alternative band The F16s will sing in English. Tamil speakers will want to diary Rhythms Of Chennai: A New Era Of Indie Music, which features a line-up of famed alumni from the reality show Super Singer (2006 to present), including Sam Vishal, Priyanka NK and Sivaangi.
Home-grown jazz fusion group RaghaJazz, which has performed at Esplanade’s various venues over the years, has “graduated” from free performances to a full-fledged ticketed concert at the Recital Studio. Local veteran musician Julian Wong will be helping the group polish their songs for the two-night gig.
Another Singapore name at the festival is HuM Theatre, which will be adapting Khushwant Singh’s novel Train To Pakistan for the stage. Actress-director Daisy Irani is directing this love story between a Sikh man and a Muslim woman set against the chaos of the 1947 partition of British India into India and Pakistan.
There is also a theatre offering for young ones. Indian puppetry company Ranga Shankara’s AHA! Theatre For Children will present Old Man And The Sea, an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s 1952 novel.
Book It/Kalaa Utsavam – Indian Festival of Arts
Where: Esplanade Theatres on the Bay, 1 Esplanade Drive str.sg/xPqv
When: Nov 15 to 24, various times
Admission: Free and ticketed
Info:
