KAASH-Akram Kahn

Stadsschouwburg Groningen, 8 january 2016

Kaash

It is fourteen years ago (2002) that British-Bengali choreographer Akram Kahn came together with Composer Nitin Sawney and the world famous sculptor Anish Kapoor to make his first evening performance ‘Kaash’. The 55 minute during piece was an enormous succes. it became a favourite on the festivals around the world. 
Now fourteen year later the  Akram Kahn Company is back with a revised version of ‘Kaash’ with five new dancers

“Our new five-strong cast of international performers sheds another light and energy on the piece, focused on physicality and precision, that I believe still has all its relevance today.”

Akram Khan

the performance starts with one male dancer (Sung Hoon Kim) standing still on stage, dressed in a traditional black costume, facing the back wall with Anish Kapoor's big black rectangle. He stands for minutes and stays still when suddenly hell breaks lose.

Four female dancers (Kristina Alleyne, Sadé Alleyne, Nicola Monaco and Sarah Cerneaux) dance around him exhausting the audience in an ever changing chess game of geometrical patterns and lines, alternating between fast complex movements with al lot of the kathak influences, and complete statue like stillness.

'Kaash' is hindu and means 'What if'. that is what Kahn thought  when he started this collaboration with Kapoor and Sawney. what if we combine our imagination in one piece. Their inspiration filled
 piece with references to hindu mythology like shiva and his love life but also of physics  like the chaos theory and black holes. it's on the line between reality and illusion, Facts and myths.
One thing that comes back every time is a build up to a point where you can't take it anymore, where it gets important and then it drops again leaving the audience in silence.
Rehearsal director Yen-Ching Lin described it like:

You come to a point  and then you break it down to start over. The question is from which point you start over.

The intriguing music by Nitin Sawney with a lot of repetitive traditional rhythms and songs. and the artwork of Anish Kapoor with the dance  together make a complete art piece in which no one is more or les important. 

All together this reviewed version of 'Kaash' is a must see and an insuring journey.
You can still see it in holland, at the 17th of march in the Zuiderstrandtheater in The Hague.

Artistic Direction / Choreography Akram Khan
Composer Nitin Sawhney
Set Design Anish Kapoor
Lighting Design Aideen Malone
Costume Design Kimie Nakano
Additional Music ‘Spectre’ by John Oswald played by The Kronos Quartet

Voice Akram Khan, B C Manjunath
Sound Recording Bernhard Schimpelsberger

Producer Farooq Chaudhry

Revival for 5 dancers Performed by Kristina Alleyne, Sadé Alleyne, Sung Hoon Kim, Nicola Monaco, Sarah Cerneaux

Rehearsal Director Yen-Ching Lin
With the support of Eulalia Ayguade Farro, Moya Michael and Andrej Petrovic

Technical Director Richard Fagan
Technicians Alex Castro, Peter Swikker/Paul Moorhouse
Tour Manager Mashitah Omar