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reviews
DESH (2011)
De Standaard, Belgium
30 November 2011 by Sarah Vankersschaever
5* Review in PDF (in Dutch)
South China Morning Post
20 November 2011 by Natasha Rogai
"powerful show which speaks to people of all ages and cultures"
Review in pdf
The Independent
10 October 2011 by Zoe Anderson
"His dancing is mercurial, his characters superbly realised." (5*)
The Independent
9 October 2011 by Jenny Gilbert
"an enthralling journey to a young, imperilled land."
The New York Times
7 October 2011 by Roslyn Sulcas
"the best pieces that Mr. Khan has created."
Daily Express
7 October 2011 by Neil Norman
"vivid, humane and amazingly accessible exploration" Verdict: 4/5
Financial Times
6 October 2011 by Clement Crisp
"dramatic honesty" (4*)
Dance Magazine
6 October 2011 by Donald Hutera
"Epic yet tellingly personal"
The Arts Desk
6 October 2011 by Ismene Brown
"Now when [Khan] dances, he doesn't just tell his own story - he tells all our stories."
Evening Standard
5 October 2011 by Sarah Frater
"technically ingenious, theatrically unsettling and emotionally unbearable" (4*)
Daily Telegraph
5 October 2011 by Mark Monahan
"best show yet... utterly transfixing." (5*)
The Stage UK
05 October 2011 by Neil Norman
"visually arresting and ultimately moving dance/drama that leaves you wanting more"
The Times, UK
20 September 2011 by Debra Crane
"mesmerising... the most extraordinary of collaborations" (****)
The Observer, UK
17 September 2011 by Luke Jennings
"A masterpiece, the choreographer's greatest show yet"
Leicester Mercury
16 September 2011 by Louise Jenkins
"thought provoking masterpiece"
The Guardian, UK
16 September 2011 by Judith Mackrell
"the most urgent, beautiful and confident work of his career" (*****)
The Public Reviews (Website)
15 September 2011 by Farhana Shaikh
"marvellous performance"
Personal Review after watching DESH Preview
13 September 2011 by Anonymous Audience
"I am not a bona fide critic, but...what Charlie Chaplin did for silent films in the 1920s, Akram Khan is doing for dance today. In an age of austerity, where our governments and corporations expect us to live in black and white, we get our fix of colour when we get to see wonderful creations like Desh. Best wishes..."
BBC News, 8 September 2011
9 September 2011 by Jeff Russell
"Akram is the king of contemporary dance, and if he played football, he would be Wayne Rooney."
Vertical Road (2010)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
22 October 2012 by Jane Vranish
"an undeniable sense of beauty and meaning"
British Council Voices
18 May 2011 by Suha Khuffash
Suha Khuffash, British Council Project Manager for the Middle East tour of Akram Khan’s Vertical Road, blogs about the performance in the Palestinian Territories.
The Age, Australia
27 October 2010 by Gina McColl
"Vertical Road is judged best new festival work"
Review in pdf
The Australian, Australia
22 October 2010 by Eamonn Kelly
"fertile dance that touches the soul and lingers in the imagination."
Review in pdf
Financial Times, UK
8 October 2010 by Gerald Dowler
"An evening of rare intelligence and artistry."
The Daily Telegraph, UK
7 October 2010 by Sarah Crompton
"A visceral evening of choreography that will rejuvenate even the most weary viewer's love of dance."
Ballet Magazine
October 2010 by Bruce Marriott
"Vertical Road, is a fantastic feast for the senses" The Observer, UK
19 September 2010 by Luke Jennings
"at once exquisite and thrilling" The Guardian, UK
18 September 2010 by Judith Mackrell
"Khan's journey of reconnection is a harrowing, beautiful puzzle"
The Stage, UK
17 September 2010 by Pat Ashworth
"hugely inspiring and profoundly disturbing, terrible and beautiful at the same time"
Gnosis (2009)
The Observer
2 May 2010 by Luke Jennings
"is the most enthralling programme of dance I've seen this year" The Independent
29 April 2010 by Zoe Anderson
"fluid movement and a superb sense of rhythm" London Evening Standard
17 November 2009 by Sarah Frater
"(Khan) is a true choreographer - someone who asks what it is to be human and provides the answers in dance"
Confluence (2009)
The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada
17 June 2011 by Paula Citron
A superb Confluence at Luminato
Review in pdf
The Daily Telegraph, UK
30 November 2009 by Sarah Crompton
The gifted dancer-choreographer and composer bring their Svapnagata festival to a thrilling close with their new collaboration, 'Confluence'.
Ballet Magazine
20 November 2009 by Graham Watts
The Svapnagata festival at Sadler's Wells ended with a collaboration between its two curators, Akram Khan and Nitin Sahwney in a work that set out to do just what it said on the tin; a 'Confluence' flowing from the diverse streams of their multi-faceted work that embraced comedy, dance and - above all else - glorious music.
bahok (2008)
The British Theatre Guide
29 September 2009 by Terry O'Donovan
"exhilarating group sequences are the highlight of the evening" The Times, UK
11 March 2008 by Debra Craine
"the visceral speed and agility of kathak (Khan's dance roots) that power the most amazing sections." The Herald (Glasgow)
11 March 2008 by Mary Brennan
"Khan's distinctive choreography, which leaps and whirls, thrills and surprises" The Telegraph, UK
10 March 2008 by Sarah Crompton
"a fine advertisement for contemporary dance - and for the expansive qualities of multiculturalism"
The Stage, UK
10 March 2008 by Chris High
"bahok unearths what the word 'home' truly means and is quite simply as close to perfect as anybody has a right to expect."
In-I (2008)
Narthaki: Globetrotting with Sunil Kothari
20 September 2009 by Dr. Sunil Kothari
"rousing applause, standing ovation" New York Post, New York, USA
17 September 2009 by Leigh Witchel
"Juliette Binoche and Akram Khan know how to pick their partners." Theatre Mania, New York, USA
16 September 2009 by Dan Bacalzo
"Juliette Binoche is a wonderful dancer" Time out, Sydney, Australia
20 February 2009 by Nick Dent
"The 70-min In-I would tax the reserves of a professional dancer..." The Gazette, Montreal, Canada
9 January 2009 by Victor Swoboda
"much-anticipated duet" The Globe and Mail, Montreal, Canada
7 January 2009 by Paula Citron
"French actress Juliette Binoche and British choreographer/dancer Akram Khan: a matched pair of bodies in motion" The Sunday Times, UK
28 September 2008 by David Jays
"Juliette Binoche shows real star quality in Akram Khan's uneven In-I"
Sacred Monsters (2006)
The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia
17 March 2008 by Richard Jinman
"one of the highlights of the final week of the Adelaide Festival of Arts" Los Angeles Times
4 May 2007 by Lewis Segal
Sacred Monsters explores dances of east and west cultural contrasts. The Economist
14 April 2007 by The Economist
"Exploring the unknown" The Times
22 September 2006 by Debra Craine
"Two dazzling sequences set the seal on this extraordinary meeting of minds and bodies" The Daily Telegraph
22 September 2006 by Sarah Crompton
"on a journey to divine delight" The Guardian
21 September 2006 by Judith Mackrell
"A duet for many as audience shares dancers' intimacy" Adelaide Festival of Arts News & Media
19 September 2006 by Brett Sheehy, Director, Adelaide Festival of Arts
"This world premiere is a triumph... Sacred Monsters is a hit."
variations for vibes, strings & pianos (2006)
Ballet Magazine
1 October 2006 by Lynette Halewood
"a pleasingly feel good ending to the evening and had an ecstatic response from the audience"
zero degrees (2005)
The Observer
12 March 2006 by Luke Jennings
"a profoundly moving piece" The Evening Standard
10 March 2006 by Sarah Frater
"a devastating must-see" The Independent
17 July 2005 by Jenny Gilbert
"selfhood and death - makes the piece so poignantly of-the-moment" Ballet.co
14 July 2005 by Lynette H.
"A fascinating and many layered event" The Guardian
13 July 2005 by Judith Mackrell
"A mix of stunning virtuosity and freakish flourishes"
ma (2004)
Le Monde, Paris
19 Nov 2004 by Rosita Boisseau
"L'exuberance epuree du 'ma' d'Akram Khan"
Ballet Dance Magazine
26 October 2004 by Ramsay Burt
"a mystical, allegorical meditation on the sacredness of mother earth"
Asian Art Magazine
November 2004 by Contemporary Dance by Iola Lenzi
Review in pdf
The Observer, UK
29 August 2004 by Jann Parry
"Whether the performers are upside down or dangling from a tree, Akram Khan's latest work is stunning"
The Guardian, UK
23 August 2004 by Judith Mackrell
"Culture clash"
The Business Times - Singapore
30 May 2004 by Cheah Ui-Hoon
Review in pdf
kaash (2002)
The New York Times
October 18 2003 by Jennifer Dunning
"an exquisitely beautiful shifting tapestry of tightly sewn motion, light and dark" The Observer, UK
23 February 2003 by Jann Parry
"Soon you accept that Kaash has been choreographed and accept it as an elemental force"
Financial Times, UK
17 May 2002 by Alastair Macaulay
"Superlatives are in order. Not since Mark Morris emerged in the mid 1980s have I seen any dancer-choreographer so able, so accomplished; and in certain ways Khan's sheer mastery is more awesome. There are some quintet's in Kaash that are the most sophisticated since Merce Cunningham. . . "
The Daily Telegraph
14 May 2002 by Ismene Brown
... [Kaash is] epic, deeply focused and grandly beautiful...
Rush (2000)
La Croix, Paris
8 October 2001 (Fix/Loose in Flight/Rush) by Annie Suquet
Extreme directional precision, sumptuously liberated arm movement and a sharp sense of structure characterise the style of this great young dancer.
London Evening Standard
2 February 2001 (Fix/Loose in Flight/Rush) by Anne Sacks
There's a phenomenon on the dance scene and his name is Akram Khan... there is something special about Akram Khan and everybody recognises it. [He has] extraordinarily contradictory qualities. He is classical and modern, earthy and mystical, sensuous and masculine, fluid and muscular and he embodies these dramatic opposites without any tensions.
Fix (2000)
The Daily Telegraph
12 April 2000 (Fix) by Ismene Brown
Fix from prodigiously skilled young soloist Akram Khan, was a display case of mental and physical brilliance. Watch his space.
General Reviews
BBC News, 8 September 2011
9 September 2011 by Jeff Russell
"Akram is the king of contemporary dance, and if he played football, he would be Wayne Rooney."
The Observer, UK
12 December 2010 by Luke Jennings
The dance highlights of 2010 The Australian, Australia
22 October 2010 by Eamonn Kelly
"Akram Khan's work a beacon in the dark"
The Evening Standard, London
17 November 2009 by Sarah Frater
It shows how highly he's regarded that Akram Khan can start late, perform less than an hour, and then only half of what he intended, and still receive a standing ovation. The Art Desk
17 November 2009 by Ismene brown
What do you call a dancer with a fractured shoulder and half a show to offer, who nevertheless takes you to the outer reaches of dance nirvana? It can only be Akram Khan. The London Paper, UK
19 September 2008 by Guy Ivison
A famous actress who has never danced and a famous dancer who has hardly ever acted - herein the pairing of Juliette Binoche and Akram Khan in this meditation on love and obsession. The Evening Standard, UK
19 September 2008 by Sarah Frater
The inevitability of love turning angry and anxious is so ingrained an idea that we rarely question if it's so. Perhaps love and its opposite go together. The Independent, UK
12 March 2008 by Lynne Walker
Nitin Sawhney's pulsating, pre-recorded score is perfectly matched to the needle-sharp textures and muted colours of Khan's detailed choreography, which this ensemble interprets with astonishing fluidity and facility, quite blowing you away. The Guardian, UK
11 March 2008 by Judith MacKrell
Through this ultimately powerful piece, Khan captures both the exhilaration and desolation of a world on the move. The Business Times, Singapore
11 June 2007 by Stephanie Burridge
An engaging, entertaining journey to a sacred place. Guillem and Khan pulled off complicated work with consummate ease.
The Daily Telegraph, Australia
8 January 2007 by Simon Ferguson
A whirling train of thought The Guardian, UK
14 December 2006 by Judith Mackrell
2006 in review: dance
Taipei Times, Taiwan
1 January 2005 by Taipei Times Feature Writers
If you missed these, you missed out The best feature stories of 2004 were...
Liberation
18 November 2004 by Herve Gauville
Akram Khan, ondes positives ...Par son souci de faire travailler les corps sous toutes les coutures (danser la tete en bas, devant-derriere, en ralentis-acceleres, etc.), [Akram Khan] rejoint celles et ceux qui placent le langage du corps, en le poussant parfois jusqu'au solipsisme, au centre de leurs preoccupations.
The Independent, UK
24 August 2004 by Lynne Walker
When the company turns into this forest, each body becomes a supple trunk, each hand takes exquisite leafy shape. A dancer is lifted, and in the shadows it looks as if she is levitating. Another is carried like a lifeless puppet, suddenly jumping back into existence.
The Berkshire Eagle (Jacobs Pillow Festival USA)
August 16 2003 by Allison Tracy
Whatever story Khan is telling, this is beautiful and amazing dance. And the most amazing thing about it is that Khan is just beginning. The Sunday Telegraph, UK
19 May 2002 by Louise Levene
The quintet darted about the stage like fish with a mission, energised by Khan's electrifying stage presence. Like a great athlete he combines an unnerving, almost menacing speed with an utterly centred serenity. His turns have a sly acceleration and his arms carve the space around him with fluid, calligraphic grace as his soft brown fingers caress invisible curves.
The Sunday Times, UK
19 May 2002 by David Dougill
Khan is a charismatic innovator in blending kathak and contemporary dance techniques - mercurial, masterful in his brilliant alternations of speed and stillness. He and his four fellow dancers scythe and slice, spin and whirl through this force field with breathtaking momentum. Hands flicker to a blur; arms fly like rotor blades. The effect is hypnotic.
The Independent on Sunday, UK
19 May 2002 by Jenny Gilbert
It's easy to be in awe of Khan's skin-flaying bursts of speed, but his stillnesses are near miraculous.
The Times, UK
15 May 2002 by Debra Craine
Khan's barefoot choreography, for himself and four other dancers, bursts out of the starting gate faster than a bullet, arms powering the dancers' bodies like competitive swimmers heading for the finish line. The choreography strives for perfection and rigour, building its absolutes with regimental precision.
The Independent, UK
15 May 2002 by Nadine Meisner
The dance, the coloured projections by the Turner Prize-winner Anish Kapoor; the score by Nitin Sawhney and the lighting by Aideen Malone mesh together to hit you head-on and resound in your mind long after. The effect is so richly theatrical that by the end you feel as if you have lived a whole drama, even though there is no narrative. Khan manages the tricky balance of forging a new language that looks updated but loses none of its old density. He streamlines, but he also extends. He returns to Kathak's traditional spins and arms, but fragments them like retrieved memories, or tilts or otherwise transmutes them. He laces in new movement, introducing floor-hugging rolls and crouches, and variously etched poses and group patterns. The dancers hit the beat of the drums as in Kathak, but just as often they rebelliously weave around it.
The Guardian
13 May 2002 by Judith Mackrell
It is like watching the aftermath of the Big Bang, with Khans choreography as the fallout. He and his four dancers occupy the stage like a collective force field, fracturing and reforming their tight little groupings, wheeling across the stage like sheet lightning. They are a complex equation of pure mass, pure speed, pure energy. But at the same time they are also making a thrilling commentary on the music: their limbs slice through the dense mathematics of the percussion and their flickering gestures decorate its surface. Evening Standard
13 May 2002 by Sarah Frater
Turner Prize winning sculptor Anish Kapoor (with lighting designer Aideen Malone) produced a fascinating set, a hypnotic colour field that seemed to exert a physical pull on the audience, drawing us inexorably into the depths of space. Nitin Sawhney's pounding, driving, rhythmic score was equally powerful, punching you in the solar plexus and making your bones vibrate. The Times
1 November 2000 (Fix/Loose in Flight/Rush) by Donald Hutera
A natural ability to render warm and juicy what others might conduct as a dry, cool, kinetic exercise.
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