Akram Khan Company
Outwitting the devil
Weergaloze performers dansen spannende mix tussen moderne dans en kathak
Akram Khan explores our oldest rituals in the midst of our ever-changing planet
De wereldberoemde Brits-Bengaalse choreograaf Akram Khan verbindt in zijn werk kracht met souplesse en combineert razendsnel voetenwerk met elastieken torso’s. Hij is vernieuwer van de eeuwenoude Noord-Indiase dans en Kathak, waarvan de heldere contouren en ritmische structuren herkenbaar blijven in zijn moderne choreografieën.
“The effect of rhythms builds a hypnotic mechanics that conveys the fight as much as the terror.”
La Provence
“Graceful and sharp, between heaven and earth with its pliés at ground level and the eyes upwards, very animal too, the gesture captures, catches, bites, hugs, strangles.”
Le Monde
“A moment of dance, music and text dazzling with power and gravity, a moment of absolute perfection.”
Artistikrezo.com
“A truly magnificent work of art!”
Dance Europe
“You are tempted to just sit, admire and enjoy.”
Movement Exposed
“Outwitting the devil van Akram Khan zit vol betekenis”
“weergaloze performers”
de Volkskrant
Klimaatverandering
“We zijn zelf de duivel. We zijn de eerste generatie die weet dat ze bezig is de planeet te vernietigen. En de laatste generatie die er nog iets aan kan doen.” zegt Akram Khan. In Outwitting the Devil herleest hij het 4000 jaar oude Gilgamesj-epos, geschreven op kleitabletten, als een parabel voor de moderne mens.
Gilgamesj
Khan koos het fragment waarin koning Gilgamesj op één van zijn reizen arriveert bij een schitterend woud. Hij vernietigt het hele bos om de monsterlijke bewaker ervan te kunnen doden. Outwitting the Devil is een geconcentreerd epos over hoe de mensheid in het antropoceen aanbelandt – het tijdperk getekend door het handelen van de mens. Khan en de zes dansers gaan op zoek naar fragmenten van verloren kennis in de brokstukken van de kleitabletten en de verhalen van gevallen goden.
We are thrilled to present the new dance performance of the world famous choreographer Akram Khan in Groningen: Outwitting the Devil. Stirring classical and contemporary, Akram Khan explores our oldest rituals in the midst of our ever-changing planet.
Outwitting the Devil
Akram’s new work is a concentrated epic about ritual and remembering. In a landscape of broken tablets and fallen idols, its six characters trade their remaining wealth and stories, seeking to make whole the fragments of ancient knowledge lost and forgotten over time.
Gilgamesh
Outwitting the Devil is inspired by a fragment of the 12 broken clay tablets which together make up one of the world’s oldest great works of literature: the Epic of Gilgamesh. It tells the story of Gilgamesh’s journey to the vast Cedar Forest and the slaughter of its guardian Humbaba. Fuelled by strength and pride, Young Gilgamesh determines to establish his fame and fortify the city of Uruk as a monument to himself. But the killing of Humbaba and destruction of the forest and its animals angers the gods. They punish the young king by taking the life of his beloved friend Enkidu. Confronted with the sorrow of human mortality, Gilgamesh passes into history. He becomes a fragment among the broken remnants of human culture and memory. Outwitting the Devil is a myth of all times, for our times.
Akram Khan
Akram Khan is one of the most celebrated and respected dance artists today. Khan is trained in both the Indian classical dance form Kathak and contemporary dance and has created his own dance language. Khan’s work is recognised as being profoundly moving, in which his intelligently crafted storytelling is effortlessly intimate and epic.
