You enter gradually the world of Akram Khan. As the audience squeezes into the packed rows of seats at Project, a short film, Loose in Flight, is projected on to the back wall of the stage. The house lights are still up so there is no real obligation to watch, but those who do are treated to a taster of Khan's extraordinary solo dancing.
Next, Khan himself arrives onstage, accompanied by tabla player Vishnu Sahai, who plays an improvisation based on nine and a half beats. All of this gently and subtly gives a flavour of and context for Khan's dances.
Drawing influences from the classic northern Indian dance genre, Kathak, and blending them with western contemporary dance, Khan creates a unique hybrid language. The elements of Kathak are obvious: upright stance and fluid flowing lines in the body. Fix is based on Sufism's whirling dervishes (Kathak embraces both Hinduism and Islam) and the electronic sounds of Nitil Sawhney instigate small sways in Khan's body as he quietly stands in rectangles of light. Soon rippling movements course through his body, sometimes stopping suddenly, or changing direction or dynamic.
The most astounding section of the dance is where he embarks on a series of multiple pirouettes, or chakkars, which toss him to the ground with centrifugal force only for him to stop perfectly balanced before swinging back again. In Rush, he is joined by dancers Moya Michael and Inn Pang Ooi, who allow him play with different formal devices. As in all of his choreography the movements are unpredictable until they happen and then they seem to make perfect sense. Although all of the dancers embody the form, the eye is constantly drawn to Khan, who combines serenity with incredible speed of movement and articulation.
Akram Khan arrived at the International Dance Festival Ireland with a considerable reputation and his performances at the weekend managed to surpass even those high expectations. It is rare to find an artist of such unique vision who possesses also the technique and performance presence to realise it so fully.
