Akram Khan Classical Intensive (Edition 3) – Jaffna
The 2025 Sri Lanka Edition marks the first time that Akram Khan Company will be bringing its internationally renowned immersion programme to the country, produced in collaboration with the British Council. This Classical Intensive is part of Akram Khan’s response to a creative world that is becoming increasingly dependent on singular perspectives and fixed notions of creativity and innovation. In this climate, Akram is particularly passionate about facilitating projects that will bring together classical artists who are committed and convinced by their traditions and wish to embark on a process-led journey to enable the revealing of new possibilities.
Conducted in the historic city of Jaffna, the Intensive will be focused on the South Indian classical dance style of Bharatanatyam. The programme will be enriched by the tradition of the arts that has flourished in Jaffna for centuries and will seek to contribute to this tradition as well. Led by the context of a place as opposed to the transference of predetermined ideas, the Intensive has a special intercultural and intergenerational focus.
The AKC Classical Intensive began in 2019 as an initiative to provide an opportunity for dancers working in Indian classical forms to re-immerse and re-invest themselves into the traditions and values that sit within the framework of Indian Dance and Music practice. Sessions in the 2025 programme will be led by Mavin Khoo, Creative Associate at AKC and long-time collaborator with Akram Khan.
Mavin is internationally recognised as a dance artist, teacher, choreographer and artist scholar. He is a well-known solo classical Bharatanatyam dancer as well as a contemporary dancer with a classical ballet background. Mavin’s status as one of Bharatanatyam’s most exciting modern innovators highlights the global reach of the tradition as well as the allure of his personal style. He was a direct disciple of the legendary maestro Guru Adyar K. Lakshman.
Mavin will be supported by Carnatic vocalist Jude Sivanganasundaram and mridangam artist Lohendran Mahendran - both of whom are Jaffna-based musicians.
The programme will host 33 invited dancing participants, with training focused on adavu and abhinaya techniques, as well as creative and compositional processes. In addition, there will be 5 silent observers who will be present throughout the programme.
Running from 9-13 December at Thinnai Farms in Jaffna, the Intensive centres around the notion of immersion—a core principle of Akram Khan’s process. Participants and observers alike will be asked to commit to this element of absorption – allowing for silence and the unknown to be explored. It is our belief that this process enables a discovery to unfold; experientially as opposed to intellectually.
About AKC
In 1999, a conversation took place between the young, gifted dancer/choreographer Akram Khan and an ambitious former dancer and just recently graduated arts manager Farooq Chaudhry. That conversation laid the foundation for a dynamic collaboration, culminating in the creation of Akram Khan Company (AKC) one year later.
In over 22 years, AKC is now one of the foremost innovative dance companies in the world and holds a major international presence through tours that reach out to cultures across the globe. Programmes range from kathak and modern solos to artist-to-artist collaborations and ensemble productions.
https://www.akramkhancompany.net/
