Critique 1 - Akram Khan: KAASH

Akram Khan, a globally renowned British-Bangladeshi Contemporary choreographer, created the work KAASH, making its debut performance in 2002 and was performed by a cast of 5 international dancers. The starting points and stimuli for the piece were “Hindu Gods, black holes, Indian time cycles, tablas, creation and destruction” (Akram Khan Company, 2015). I researched this before watching the piece by the company to see if I could correlate and distinguish this within the choreography.

Whilst watching the performance, it was clear to see that there were significant and frequent moments where the dancers would perform simplistic gestures (almost like sign language). Khan clearly adopted this from Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (a former collaborator who worked with Khan on Zero Degrees) who frequently uses Mudras, a series of symbolic hand gestures that are used in the Hindu culture to resemble the Hindu gods. I believe Khan embeds this into his choreography to not only enhance the theme of Hindu Gods, but to blend the style of Contemporary dance and Kathak (Classical Indian dance) together. I believe that this was effective within the performance; I liked how the dancers explored the space between the gestures (in their own personal space as well as interacting with the other dancers also) and there was a significant moment when a dancer slowly presented a gesture facing towards the audience. I felt that the gestures were more than just movement, they had a purpose and were meaningful to the culture of Hinduism, and the significant moment in particular was effective as it impacted me as an audience member; I felt like the moment was magical and enchanting which made me keen to continue watching the performance.


(Fernandez, J. 2014)

The overall tone of the piece felt very dramatic. As an audience member watching, I felt moved by the choreography as there were some beautiful moments of mudras and simplistic movements used, but the constant percussion and drums used in the music set the swift pace of the piece. The choreography complemented this throughout where there were lots of sharp dynamics and actions used, as well as sharp diagonal lines that were formed within the performance space. The lighting aided the dramatic quality as there were vivid washes which were a spectacle to the eye. I felt this gave the performance more life as well as impacting the atmosphere, altering the mood and tone of the performance. When the lighting was red and blue, the atmosphere felt quite intense, but on the other hand, when the lighting was more of a faded orange and an off white colour, the atmosphere became more eased and soothing (as the colours were softer). I think the choice of colours were simple yet impactful. The colours didn’t interfere with the performance; because the lighting was simple washes, the overall focus was still devoted to the performers and the movement material.

Overall, I really enjoyed watching KAASH by Akram Khan. I felt that the piece clearly explored the imagery of Hinduism and gods, as well as the idea of creation and destruction by having contrasting moments in the piece - for example, there were gradual and controlled movements that were matched to simple bells in the music to demonstrate the beauty and peace of creation. This would then be contrasted with the swift and heavy use of drums as well as vocals layered over the top, to add a sense of chaos and disorder to convey the theme of destruction. I thought this was devised and executed excellently, with Khan embedding frequent use of fast footwork and hand gestures that underpins the choreography to also enhance this additionally. 

References 

Akram Khan Company (2015). What's on - KAASH. Available at Kaash - Akram Khan Company . [accessed 4th November 2021] 

Fernandez, J. (2014). Akram Khan Company. Sadler's Wells, London. Available at Kaash (Revival) - Akram Khan Company 

Bibliography

Akram Khan Company (2015). What's on - KAASH. Available at Kaash - Akram Khan Company . [accessed 4th November 2021] 

Akram Khan Company (2014). Kaash / Akram Khan Company - trailer 2014. Video. Available at Kaash / Akram Khan Company - trailer 2014 - YouTube [Accessed 4th November 2021]

Fernandez, J. (2014). Akram Khan Company. Sadler's Wells, London. Available at Kaash (Revival) - Akram Khan Company 




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