Choreographer Akram Khan has collaborated with Spanish flamenco dancer Israel Galvan for Torobaka. He tells Shrabasti Mallik that he likes to explore other art forms while staying rooted to one
Few dancers find creative independence by fusing two (sometimes more) genres together, while few devote their entire lives to a single discipline. Akram Khan belongs to the third kind — the one where he keeps rooted to the depths of the art form he practices (Kathak) while exploring the traits, nuances and possibilities of Western and Contemporary dance. “I am not a mixer,” he established, “I believe in doing one thing whole heartedly while exploring another.”
This london based dancer-choreographer is currently touring India as part of The Park Festival in association with British Council. But he is not alone, he is collaborating with Spanish Flamenco dancer Israel Galvan for the dance piece titled Torobaka.
Torobaka is the coming together of two dance forms and styles as different as two countries — Kathak and Flamenco. The name of the choreography takes its name from a Maori-inspired phonetic poem by Tristan Tzara. The bull (toro) and cow (vaca) are sacred animals in their traditions. Rather than mimicking one another, Khan and Galvan create something new by better understanding each other’s approaches to their craft. “Kathak and flamenco might belong to two completely different genres but they share the same rhythm and the similar footwork,” Khan drew the subtle similarity between the two styles.
The concept, Khan told us, is heavily based on dance and music unlike his other compositions, which are more thematic. “There are some wonderful musicians and percussionists from Belguim, Spain and South India,” he said.
The collaboration with Galvan is as interesting as the concept of the performance. We came to know that Khan was introduced to Galvan by a common friend and the moment he saw the latter perform, he had decided to work with him. “When I saw the way he deconstructed flamenco and constructed it again — it was something I had never seen before. I knew right then and there that I wanted to work with him,” said the man who has collaborated with artistes like Steve Reich, Kylie Minogue and Anish Kapoor.
It took him three months to choreograph Torobaka and premiered it last year in May. Even though the two artistes do not understand each other’s language, they form quite a good rapport. Khan gave us the minor details, “We communicate through work and sign language which only we can understand. There have been times when I have said something and he has understood something completely different and we have had a hearty laugh afterwards.”
He took his first dance lessons at the tender age of three from his mother before moving on to learning the nuances of Kathak from Shri Pratap Pawar. “I grew up in london and was exposed to the Western forms of dance. When I went to university, I discovered contemporary — this whole new world and form,” said the choreographer who lists the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Bruce lee, Michael Jackson and even Muhammad Ali as his influences. “Krishna, too, is one of my inspirations,” he added.
For an artiste as devoted as him (it is sad that he forgets the world when he’s rehearsing) the present state of India’s classical disciplines is a matter of concern. “Very few truly inhabit the soul of the the craft,” he rued. “There is a lot of talent in India but sadly no one, perhaps very few, fathom the depths of classical art. What is projected in reality shows on television is temporary, there’s no depth in it. I worry for the longetivity because these are spiritual rituals — matters of sadhana. Once you invest in one, it will remain with you. But the new craze of ‘a little bit of this and a little bit of that’ is not good,” he concluded.