Akram Khan Dancing New Interculturalism

by Mitra, Royona

• ISBN13: 9781137393654
• ISBN10: 1137393653
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-05-28
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Akram Khan: Dancing New Interculturalism analyses the relationship between this seminal British-Asian choreographer's complex identity-positions and his art through the lens of 'new interculturalism'. Through seven key case studies from Khan's oeuvre, this book demonstrates how Khan's philosophy and aesthetic of 'new interculturalism' is a challenge to the 1980s predominantly western 'intercultural theatre' project, as a more nuanced and embodied approach to representing Othernesses, from his own position of the Other. Additionally, the book challenges popular perception of Khan's art as contemporary South Asian dance by suggesting that, instead, Khan uses South Asian dramaturgical principles to transform the western contemporary dance landscape in intercultural ways. Offering the first full-length investigation of Akram Khan's work, this book is essential reading for students, researchers, practitioners and fans of Khan's work.

Author Biography

Dr Royona Mitra is a Lecturer in Theatre at Brunel University London, UK where she teaches physical theatre, intercultural performance and critical theory. Her research addresses intersectionalities between bodies, cultures and identities. She has published in Dance Research Journal, Feminist Review and Women & Performance and contributed to volumes on dance and culture.

Table of Contents

Contents
Preface
List of Images
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1.Khan's Body-Of-Action
2.Corporeal Gestures in Gnosis (2010)
3.Auto-ethnography and Loose in Flight (1999)
4.'Third Space' Politics in Zero Degrees (2005) and Desh (2011)
5.Mobility and Flexibility in Bahok (2008)
6.Queering Normativity in iTMOi (2013)
Conclusion
Notes
References
Appendix: List of Performances