Confluence, reflection from Akram & Nitin

27 November 2009

In a world where things are increasingly disposable, where aesthetics are dictated by trends and quality by ephemera, we wanted to create something of lasting value.

- Akram Khan

A reflection from Akram and Nitin from there time working together on Confluence.

“Time is the one thing that initially drew Nitin and I together… And by ‘time’, I don’t mean it in a conventional sense… Not in the Western, masculine, linear clock time sense, that both Nitin and I have been groomed, educated, and cultured in. I mean it in another sense… natural time, seasonal time, emotional time, life time, space-time, mythic time, spiritual time. And it is in this cyclical sense of ‘time’, that we built our early conversations and dreams. We were not even aware of it at that stage of our creative journey, that we shared one profound sense of connection that manifested itself in the form of deep fascination and curiosity to discover the inevitable complexity of the ‘eastern time’.

In a world where things are increasingly disposable, where aesthetics are dictated by trends and quality by ephemera, we wanted to create something of lasting value. One hand and ear reaching and listening towards the tradition and the other reaching out towards the unfamiliar, the unknown.

I feel that Confluence is a journey of our various works created over a decade, that we have slowly and at times, painfully and yet humorously journeyed through. Creating a work is not always easy, actually most of the time it is not. It is usually a combination of harsh words, tired muscles, strong visions, encouraging smiles, infinite hours, supportive nods, stressful silences, and long breakfasts together. And in all this, we knew that we were never alone in this journey. Confluence will hopefully be for you as a spectator, as it is for me, a reflection of our ‘time’ together, as creators, as performers and most importantly as friends.

I look forward to our future collaborations.” – Akram

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