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Gnosis

Choreography
Director
Collection
Year of production
2011
Year of creation
2009

Nowadays, “to want” is stronger than “to give” or “to share”. Akram Khan’s work is a perpetual toing and froing between tradition and modernity, contemporary dance and kathak – classical dance from Northern India that consumes the whole body, including the hands, in a game of highly codified signs and postures. Although this Anglo-Bengali constantly reconnects with his roots, he produces intense shows that deal with current-day preconceptions. Gnosis takes its inspiration from his two previous works “Polaroid feet” and “Tarana”, then moves on to highlight the long, epic Hindu poem, the Mahabharata, and more particularly the story of Gandhari, the wife of a blind king who decided to make herself blind to share the “shadows” of his existence with him. Akram Khan makes this myth a reason for supporting and exploring what he names “inner knowledge”, a way for him to emphasize the opposing forces which flow through each of his characters, linking the human to the divinity. “I was fascinated by this idea of a woman who would choose to make herself blind. And, although she could go back on her decision at any time, her honour, her pride and her promise were so strong, that she preferred blindness to the joy of being able to see her children grow up”.

The choreographer-performer, accompanied by five musicians, and with the collaboration of the virtuoso dancer Gauri Sharma Tripathi, invites us to partake in a fascinating solo. A real initiatory journey during which the performer is obliged to watch out for his most inner self or be blinded by the light. “It’s just landscapes, images, situations, from which ideas can burst forth and spread, then be transformed by a rather more personal interpretation of the story. A story made of movements”.
By blending a certain form of spirituality with his dance, Akram Khan continues to establish himself as a link between Bengali tradition and our contemporary world.

Source: Maison de la Danse performance program

Choreography
Director
Collection
Year of production
2011
Year of creation
2009
Art direction / Design
Akram Khan
Artistic advice / Dramaturgy
Ruth Little
Duration
41′
Lights
Fabiana Piccioli
Music live
Faheem Mazhar – chant, Sanju Sahai – tabla, Lucy Railton – violoncelle, Bernhard Schimpelsberger – percussion, Kartik Ragunathan – violon
Other collaboration
Farooq Chaudhry – producteur, JiaXuan Hon – manager de tournée // Remerciements la compagnie de Kodo (Japon), Yoshie Sunahata, M. et Mme Khan et Shanell Winlock avec le soutien de Jerwood Space pour les répétitions Akram Khan dédicace cette pièce à son guru, Sri Pratap Pawar, ainsi qu’à tous les autres conteurs qui continuent à se battre pour transmettre au public d’aujourd’hui une myriade de merveilleuses histoires.
Performance
Akram Khan, Fang-Yi Sheu (artiste invitée)
Production of video work
Production Akram Khan Company, Maison de la Danse
Sound
Marcus Hyde
Production of choreographic work
Coproduction ADACH (Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage), Sadler’s Wells (Londres) en association avec The Point, Eastleigh
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