THIKRA: NIGHT OF REMEMBERING – THE AKRAM KHAN COMPANY

Settling into my seat as the Dome Concert Hall filled to almost capacity I was soon aware of a faint but distant drumming, barely perceptible but definitely there and growing, as did a faint light on the stage that as the soundscape/score grows reveals a mountain and a cave, a goddess-like figure atop and a shadowy figure looking up at her.

But fairly soon the stage fills with women in ritualistic swaying motion, movements combining classic southern Asian dance shapes and modern western forms. It grows and grows, mesmeric in its insistence, dark and in some ways disturbing. And there is a palpable discomfort in this, the swaying, the almost trance-like state of the dancers, the thrashing movements. Is this an act of worship, of reverence, are they complicit or are they captive. Viewing this is certainly captivating and in particular seeing the way the dancers are utilising their flowing dark hair, clearly an important part of Khan’s choreography and in fact becoming an extra limb.

As the piece grows the whole becomes even more intensely ritualistic with elements that border on sacrificial and then elements that breathe an air of resurrection.

The very insistent and very loud original score by Aditya Prakash and sound design by Gareth Fry drives the whole forward relentlessly, the lighting design by Zeynep Kepekli is dark, dark enough to force you to really concentrate visually and the all-female international cast of Contemporary and Bharatanatyam dancers are quite simply sensational, performing as a cohesive unit even when single figures step out of the ensemble.  Thikra is a stunning finale for Khan’s company, but leaves one wanting more and wondering what comes next from this fascinating creative mind.

Andrew Kay

23 May

Brighton Dome Concert Hall

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