Akram Khan Company
Chotto Desh
VPAC presents Chotto Desh, Bengali for “small homeland,” a story of one young man’s dreams and memories, brought to life by interactive animations and the choreography of Akram Khan — recognized as one of Britain’s most important artists, and contributor to the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony.
Shadow Puppetry Workshop | Free and open to all ticket holders
Pre-performance 2-3:00 PM in VPAC Lobby
Post-performance 4-5:00 PM in VPAC Lobby
Explore the art of Shadow Play, an ancient form of storytelling, with master puppetry artist Beth Peterson. Create you very own shadow puppets of characters from "The Story of the Honey Bee" in Chotto Desh -- a friendly elephant, a fierce crocodile, an exquisite butterfly. On shadow screens in the VPAC lobby, bring your puppets to life in a shadow play of your own invention!
Beth Peterson has been creating puppets, masks, pageants, parades and puppet shows for over 18 years. She was the puppet master for Popol Vuh: Heart of Heaven co-presented by Center Theatre Group and El Teatro Campesino. For The Music Center, she created procession elements for the civic dedication ceremony for the opening of Grand Park. She also designed puppets and masks for The Pink Dress presented in The Music Center's World City series at Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Japanese American National Museum and at In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre in Minneapolis, where she was the Associate Artistic Director for many years.
Hope Strife and Renewal from Akram Khan, an in depth look by Jean Lenihan
Akram Khan (Artistic Direction and Original Choreography)
Akram Khan is one of the most celebrated and respected dance artists today. In just over fifteen years he has created a body of work that has contributed significantly to the arts in the UK and abroad. His reputation has been built on the success of imaginative, highly accessible and relevant productions such as DESH, iTMOi, Vertical Road, Gnosis and zero degrees.
An instinctive and natural collaborator, Khan has been a magnet to world-class artists from other cultures and disciplines. His previous collaborators include the National Ballet of China, actress Juliette Binoche, ballerina Sylvie Guillem, choreographers/dancers Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Israel Galván, singer Kylie Minogue, visual artists Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley and Tim Yip, writer Hanif Kureishi and composers Steve Reich, Nitin Sawhney, Jocelyn Pook and Ben Frost.
Khan’s work is recognised as being profoundly moving, in which his intelligently crafted storytelling is effortlessly intimate and epic. Described by the Financial Times as an artist "who speaks tremendously of tremendous things", a recent highlight of his career was the creation of a section of the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony that was received with unanimous acclaim.
Khan has been the recipient of numerous awards throughout his career including the Laurence Olivier Award, the Bessie Award (New York Dance and Performance Award), the prestigious ISPA (International Society for the Performing Arts) Distinguished Artist Award, the Fred and Adele Astaire Award, the Herald Archangel Award at the Edinburgh International Festival, the South Bank Sky Arts Award and six Critics' Circle National Dance Awards. Khan was awarded an MBE for services to dance in 2005. He is also an Honorary Graduate of Roehampton and De Montfort Universities, as well as University of London, and Honorary Fellow of Trinity Laban.
Khan is an Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells, London.
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