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Celebrated choreographer and performer Akram Khan will present the Asia premiere of "DESH", one of his most significant dance and choreography works, this Friday and Saturday (November 18 and 19) at the Kwai Tsing Theatre Auditorium. Khan this year received the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Dance in London as well as an ISPA Distinguished Artist Award in New York.
In "DESH", Khan and his award-winning collaborators weave threads of memory, experience and myth into a surreal world of surprising connections to create an intimate yet epic stage production. The work, which had its world premiere in Leicester in the UK this September, has received critical acclaim. The Observer called it "a masterpiece, the best thing that (Khan) has ever done". The Guardian also praised the show, describing it as "the most urgent, beautiful and confident work of (Khan's) career."
The word "desh" means "homeland" in Bengali. As a British-born Bangladeshi, Akram Khan moves between Britain and Bangladesh and draws multiple tales of land, nation, resistance and convergence into the body and voice of one man trying to find his balance in an unstable world. "DESH" explores fragility in the face of natural forces, and celebrates the resilience of the human spirit in the rhythms of labour, in dream and story, and in transformation and survival.
Khan has written of the work, "I am fascinated by water inside the earth. It is the core principle of the way I think and move, fluidity within form ...... and Bangladesh has an abundance of both water and earth ...... I am fascinated to search for and explore a story that addresses the tragedy and comedy of lives in Bangladesh."
Born in London, Khan began learning classical Indian kathak dance at the age of 7. In the 1990s, he started to present solo pieces, characterised by their distinctive blend of East and West as well as a combination of traditional and modern dance forms. In huge demand in the international dance scene, Khan is one of the few contemporary choreographers to have earned audience acclaim in Europe, the US, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Khan has collaborated with many prominent artists including Turner Prize-winning sculptor Anish Kapoor, top ballerina Sylvie Guillem, Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche and pop star Kylie Minogue.
"DESH" is produced by Akram Khan Company and co-produced by MC2: Grenoble (France); Sadler's Wells London (UK); Thˆmâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg (Luxembourg); Curve, Leicester (UK); and Concertgebouw Brugge (Belgium). The production is one of the closing programmes of the World Cultures Festival 2011 - Enchanting Arts of Asia presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. It will be staged on November 18 and 19 at 8pm at the Kwai Tsing Theatre Auditorium.
Tickets priced at $360, $280, $200 and $130 are now available at URBTIX outlets. Half-price tickets are available for full-time students, senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and their minders, and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients. Other booking discounts of up to 20 per cent are available.
Programme brochures for the World Cultures Festival 2011 - Enchanting Arts of Asia are available at URBTIX outlets or at the website, www.worldfestival.gov.hk.
For programme enquiries, call 2370 1044. Internet bookings can be made at www.urbtix.hk. For credit card telephone bookings, call 2111 5999.
Ends/Monday, November 14, 2011
Issued at HKT 17:46
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