TOROBAKA | The Guardian ★★★★ review

“Akram Khan and Israel Galván begin their new duet sitting on the edge of a large circle of light, a circle that throughout the evening will often have the feel of a gladiatorial space – a wrestling ring or most often a bullring.

There was never any question that a collaboration between these two superlative artists would feel as much like a duel as a duet. And, as they begin trading and competing their respective kathak and flamenco styles, that duelling often proves ferocious.

Stamping out a dialogue of percussive rhythms – Khan barefoot with jangling ankle bells, Galván in heeled flamenco shoes – the two men look as though they won’t give up until one of them falls, exhausted, to the floor. They circle each other, arms whirling, foreheads pressed together, hands sometimes clamped over the other’s mouth to silence their chanting voices, if not their feet.”

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