Interview with Akram Khan / Choreographer
——You premiered Zero Degrees in July 8th 2005. Which was astonishingly the day after the 7/7 bombings.
Akram: Yes I remember clearly. That sunny afternoon—we were just finishing our general rehearsal, and Larbi (Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui) and I were smoking outside watching the streets. I immediately noticed something bizarre and asked Larbi, why are all these people with packed briefcases and business suites, walking, to get home? I mean they were like zombies. So shocked by the incident that occurred, they couldn’t help but just keep moving aimlessly and hopelessly. Minutes later, somebody from the theater informed us that there were some bombings. After, we started discussing whether or not we should cancel the performance. It wasn’t an easy call, but at the end Larbi and I decided to do give it a go. Even if there was only one person who dares to come out of his house, we felt that it was so important to do it. Amazingly enough, most of the audience shows up the next day. Though half way through the performance, when I started my monologue about the dead body I saw on train in India…one thousand people simultaneously moved backwards, as if it was precisely orchestrated. I know that it happened out of an undesired horrific incident, but I dare say, it was such a beautiful sight from my perspective. Because everybody was together, everybody was united. For the first time in my theater life, I truly felt that we were all one.
——In this day and age, artists cannot stay indifferent or irrelevant to the society.
Akram: Yes, I agree. Although when I was younger, I chose to be blind. Oh, it is so far away over the water, Iraq is in war but it has nothing to do with me. But now, I feel more and more connected to all of that. The world has become smaller. You cannot choose to ignore. Although in my pieces, I don’t show exactly what is happening in the world. I show part of it, I am more subtle in it, and it is my choice to play more with the abstract. Because when you create in this abstract kind of form, it leaves room for the audience. To delve in and dig in and think in their own way. Actually, this is also the philosophy of Anish (Kapoor), the brilliant set designer in my newest piece in-i. He says that creation is not about what you add, but rather is about what you take away. Because that is when you really see the power of space.
——I sense some oriental philosophy, more precisely, a Japanese Haiku kind of artistry hidden behind it.
Akram: Oh, I love the Japanese culture. Because you never fill up the space. There is always some silence and stillness left behind. It is such a beautiful concept. Also what I adore about Japan is that, the culture living there is like a hammerhead shark. You know that fish, two eyes looking at totally the opposite way? Japan is like that. One eye towards the future and the other towards the past. And it is growing in both directions.