Sawhney co-created the comedy Secret Asians, which spawned the award-winning BBC television series Goodness Gracious Me. Following a tour with the James Taylor Quartet, he formed The Jazz Tones and collaborated with tabla player Talvin Singh in The Tihai Trio.
His enthusiasm for a new fusion of Indian and Western forms has been evident since his first solo album, Spirit Dance in 1993.
When Kaash debuted in London in May, it earned rave reviews. Khan credited the genesis of the work to "Hindu gods, black holes, Indian time cycles, tablas, creation and destruction." Khan leads four other dancers in his latest quest to connect contemporary dance and the classical Indian dance form.
"It is important that we remind ourselves of the value of that which we cannot touch. Is it not true that the empty space inside the cup is what renders it useful? Similarly, the stillness between steps, the spaces between musical phrases and the empty spaces in space itself contain all the mysteries of their eventual forms," Khan wrote in his notes on the piece.
The pieces Khan and his collaborators will present during their stay in Taiwan will be an exploration of this empty space and stillness.
Fix is a solo piece inspired by whirling dervishes and Sufism. Sawneys composed a meditative raga-based score for the work in which Khan whirls rapidly with arms flailing. In Loose in Flight, Khan choreographed from a unique approach -- "imagining the body being manipulated by 16 strings in space."
Kaash, which will go on stage next Friday, opens with a male dancer silently facing the void. A woman enters the stage and stands at his side. She breathes into his ear and all the other dancers appear suddenly. To dynamic chanting and drums, the dancers swirl around the stationary male. Their hands move energetically and their steps show tactful force.
In the background is Kapoor's thick, black square -- an imitation of a black hole painted on gauze. It is vibrant enough to serve as another character in the performance. Later the stage becomes enshrouded in crimson, pink and midnight blue, giving the audience the illusion that they are floating in space. Each dancer follows a different rhythm and pattern, creating an almost mathematical beauty.
With dancers serving as elements in the universe, the piece tries to illustrate what happens if the various theories regarding the beginning and end of the universe should come true.
The Akram Khan Dance Company will perform Loose in Flight, Fix and Rush on Tuesday, Sept. 24 and Kaash on Sept. 27 and 28 at Novel Hall, 3-1, Sungshou Rd., Taipei (台北松壽路3-1號). Performances start at 10pm. Tickets cost between NT$500 and NT$1,500 and are available at the venue.
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