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Celebrated choreographer Akram Khan's latest hit "Until the Lions" to bring together love and hate (with photos)
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     Celebrated choreographer Akram Khan, winner of the UK's prestigious Olivier Award for "DESH" in 2012, will stage the Asia premiere of his latest production "Until the Lions" in the New Vision Arts Festival in November. The tumultuous work, connecting love and hate, was launched at the London Roundhouse to great critical acclaim in January this year.
 
     Akram Khan's productions are characterised by their distinctive blend of East and West, and traditional and modern dance forms. The British-born Bangladeshi dancer-choreographer has a ceaseless fascination with the ancient Indian Sanskrit epic "The Mahabharata". "As in many myths, the female characters are often the unsung heroes, the figures of strength and imagination and endurance. It is their unsung stories in particular that still haunt me today," he said.
 
     "Until the Lions" is adapted from "The Mahabharata". In the programme, director and choreographer Akram Khan places Amba, an unsung heroine in the epic, in the spotlight. Swirling limbs amid percussive dance sequences compellingly capture the transformation of the kidnapped princess from innocence to outrage and yearning, her self-immolation, and her eventual reincarnation as Shikhandi, a warrior who seeks vengeance in a showdown with her abductor Bheeshma. The Guardian in the UK described the programme as a "cosmic dance of destiny and revenge".
 
     As haunting harmonies and vocals suffuse the performance with a ritualistic aura, the trio of dancers, Akram Khan, Chien Ching-ying and Christine Joy Ritter, summon up breath-taking technique in an enthralling display of energy and emotional intensity. The star-studded team behind the work, which offers a stunning audio-visual feast that cleanses the soul, also includes Karthika Naïr, who provided the thought-provoking scenario; Tim Yip, the designer of the mistily symbolic ringed tree stump set; and Michael Hulls, who developed the luminescent lighting.
 
     "Until the Lions" is the closing programme of the New Vision Arts Festival. It will be staged at 8pm on November 19 and 3pm on November 20 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre. Tickets priced at $140, $200, $300, $400 and $480 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999.
 
     Extension activities including a masterclass will be held on November 17, and a pre-performance talk and a meet-the-artist session will be held on November 19.
 
     For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2370 1044 or visit www.newvisionfestival.gov.hk.
 
     Organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the New Vision Arts Festival is running from October 21 to November 20 to feature an array of pioneering shows by local and overseas performing groups. Showcasing innovative interdisciplinary collaborations and electrifying new perspectives on the arts, the festival offers new experiences for audiences.
 
 
Ends/Saturday, October 29, 2016
Issued at HKT 11:00
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Akram Khan is a British-born Bangladeshi dancer-choreographer. His productions are characterised by their distinctive blend of East and West, and traditional and modern dance forms. His latest hit "Until the Lions" is the closing programme of the New Vision Arts Festival. It will be staged on November 19 and 20 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre.
Celebrated choreographer Akram Khan's latest hit "Until the Lions" is the closing programme of the New Vision Arts Festival. It will be staged on November 19 and 20 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre. The programme is adapted from the ancient Indian Sanskrit epic "The Mahabharata".
Celebrated choreographer Akram Khan's latest hit "Until the Lions" is the closing programme of the New Vision Arts Festival. It will be staged on November 19 and 20 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre. In the programme, the trio of dancers summon up breath-taking technique in an enthralling display of energy and emotional intensity.
Celebrated choreographer Akram Khan's latest hit "Until the Lions" is the closing programme of the New Vision Arts Festival. It will be staged on November 19 and 20 at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre. The Guardian in the UK described the programme as a "cosmic dance of destiny and revenge".