© jeanettebak
Turning of Bones
The title of Akram Khan’s new work, ”Turning of Bones”, alludes to the Famadihana, a ritual of remembrance practised mainly in Madagascar, where people take the remains of their ancestors, wrapped in cloth, out of the graves to reconnect with their heritage: they rewrite the names on the shrouds, carry the bones over their heads and dance with them.
Famadihana can also describe the approach to this production, in which Khan immerses himself in the history of his own choreographic works. For his first project with Gauthier Dance, he combines reimagined scenes from his group pieces ”Jungle Book reimagined” and ”iTMOi (In the Mind of Igor)”, head dance ”DESH” and the pas de deux ”Mud of Sorrow”. The selection focuses on the feeling of discontent and the search for meaning that define our increasingly disoriented society, culminating in a new work in which dance and pure emotion are placed at the center.
Akram Khan
One of the most celebrated and respected dance artists of today, in just over 22 years Akram Khan has created a body of work that has contributed significantly to the arts in the UK and abroad. Khan’s work is recognised as being profoundly moving, in which his intelligently crafted storytelling is effortlessly intimate and epic. The Financial Times described him as an artist “who speaks tremendously of tremendous things”. As a choreographer, Khan has developed a close collaboration with English National Ballet. He created the short piece “Dust”, part of the Lest We Forget programme, which led to an invitation to create his own critically acclaimed version of the iconic romantic ballet “Giselle”. “Creature” is Khan’s latest work for English National Ballet.
Gauthier Dance
Gauthier Dance // Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart is a young, dynamic company of 16 highly individual, versatile artists, directed by the dancer, choreographer, musician and charismatic dance ambassador Eric Gauthier. Set up in October 2007, the company established itself in the German dance scene with record speed and has long since become an international brand. The repertoire includes works by Gauthier himself as well as famous contemporary choreographers such as Mauro Bigonzetti, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Marie Chouinard, Sharon Eyal, Andonis Foniadakis, William Forsythe, Itzik Galili, Jiří Kylián, Lightfoot/León, Hans van Manen, Marcos Morau, Ohad Naharin and Sasha Waltz. In addition to the performances at its home base Theaterhaus Stuttgart, the company is busy touring to international dance cities including Toronto, New York, Tel Aviv, Venice, Amsterdam, St. Petersburg, Monaco, Québec City, Montréal, Berlin and Chicago.
In addition to the “normal” shows, Gauthier Dance has been committed to a pioneering socio-cultural format from the very beginning: the Gauthier Dance Mobile brought dance to people who cannot come to the theatre themselves and visited institutions such as retirement homes, hospitals or homes for people with disabilities. In 2022, Theaterhaus and Eric Gauthier opened a new chapter in this outreach programme with the MOVES FOR FUTURE initiative. The Gauthier Dance JUNIORS//Theaterhaus Stuttgart inspires enthusiasm for dance in the next generation with numerous performances at schools in the region.
In summer 2025, Gauthier Dance, as the hosting company, will open the COLOURS International Dance Festival with the world premiere of “The Turning of Bones”, created by none other than star choreographer Akram Khan.