Akram Khan’s DESH

Renowned performer and choreographer Akram Khan presents his new full length solo, DESH at Curve Theatre, Leicester, which started last night until Saturday, 17th September. DESH, which means homeland, sees Khan reconnect with his Bangladeshi roots.

Here’s what Khan has to say about DESH:

This production, according to the show’s producer, Farooq Chaudhry, is possibly the biggest collaborative project Akram Khan Company has done so far. For this solo performance, Khan has teamed up with Oscar-winning Chinese visual artist Tim Yip, who is production designer for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist and lighting designer Michael Hulls; dramaturg Ruth Little; Indian writer and poet Karthika Nair and Olivier Award-winning composer Jocelyn Pook, whose impressive credit list includes Brick Lane and Eyes Wide Shut.

Check out Khan on his DESH collaborators:

Sneak preview during rehearsal:

The world premiere of DESH is at Curve Theatre Leicester tomorrow. Don’t miss it! For ticket information, go to the Curve Theatre website and to book tickets online, click here.

TV Choice Awards 2011 winners

Here are the winners of tonight’s TV Choice Awards.

:: Best Food Show – Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals

:: Best Entertainment Show – Celebrity Juice

:: Best Drama Series – Being Human

:: Best New Drama – Sherlock

:: Best Daytime Show – The Jeremy Kyle Show

:: Best Game Show – The Cube

:: Best Family Drama – Doctor Who

:: Best Reality Show – The Apprentice

:: Best Talent Show – Britain’s Got Talent

:: Best Comedy – The Inbetweeners

:: Best Lifestyle Show – Come Dine With Me

:: Best Factual Entertainment Show – Top Gear

:: Best Actor – David Tennant (Single Father)

:: Best Actress – Karen Gillan (Doctor Who)

:: Best Soap Newcomer – Paula Lane (Coronation Street)

:: Best Soap Storyline – 50th Anniversary tram crash (Coronation Street)

:: Best Soap Actress – Jessie Wallace (EastEnders)

:: Best Soap Actor – Shane Richie (EastEnders)

:: Best Soap – EastEnders

Congratulations to all the winners!

TeZuka

What an interesting concept TeZuka was from celebrated Belgian-Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Saw the performance with fellow dance enthusiast Eliz at Sadler’s Wells.

It’s all about Osamu Tezuka, who is regarded as the Godfather of Manga. The show heavily features two of his most popular works – Astroboy (which I used to watch on TV as a child) and Buddha. Watch the video below to get an idea of the thinking behind the show, which is part of Sadler’s Wells Out of Asia season:

Here’s how Sadler’s describes the production:

Visionary Japanese manga artist and animator Osamu Tezuka provides the inspiration for internationally renowned choreographer and Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s brand new work – TeZukA.

Working with an international cast of 10 performers including Daniel Proietto (AfterLight) and long time collaborator Damien Jalet (Babel (words)), three musicians and a calligrapher, Cherkaoui explores Tezuka’s fascinating world – a blend of tradition, science fiction and contemporary reality. Two of Tezuka’s manga stories which are well known in Japanese popular culture – Astro Boy and Buddha – have particularly captured Cherkaoui’s imagination in creating this new work.

TeZukA will feature a specially commissioned score from award-winning composer Nitin Sawhney with lighting and visual design by Willy Cessa and costumes by fashion designer Sasa Kovacevic. Tezuka’s original illustrations will be projected alongside work by video artist Taiki Ueda and calligraphy by Tosui Suzuki. Using the dancers’ movements to trace the physical evolution of Tezuka’s drawings – from a line on a blank page to a single Japanese kanji (letter) to a fully-formed manga character – Cherkaoui will bring the “God of Manga’s” philosophy, drawings and characters to life.

For me the highlights were the music and projections. Needless to say, the dancers had very impressive stamina and were mesmerising to watch. The only thing that I found quite heavy was them talking about bacterial theory… but all in all loved the cross-cultural mix and great to see two of the Shaolin monks from Sutra involved in this production.

Here are some reviews from the Guardian and The Telegraph.