Akram Khan is one of the most celebrated and respected dance artists of today. In just over 24 years he has created a body of work that has contributed significantly to the arts in the UK and abroad. His reputation has been built on the success of imaginative, highly accessible and relevant productions such as Jungle Book reimagined, Outwitting the Devil, XENOS, Until the Lions, Kaash, iTMOi (in the mind of igor), DESH, Vertical Road, Gnosis and zero degrees.

As an instinctive and natural collaborator, Khan has been a magnet to world-class artists from other cultures and disciplines. His previous collaborators include the National Ballet of China, actress Juliette Binoche, ballerina Sylvie Guillem, choreographers/dancers Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Israel Galván, singer Kylie Minogue, indie rock band Florence and the Machine, visual artists Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley and Tim Yip, writer Hanif Kureishi and composers Steve Reich, Nitin Sawhney, Jocelyn Pook and Ben Frost.

Khan’s work is recognised as being profoundly moving, in which his intelligently crafted storytelling is effortlessly intimate and epic. Described by the Financial Times as an artist “who speaks tremendously of tremendous things”, a highlight of his career was the creation of a section of the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony that was received with unanimous acclaim.

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.

Khan has been the recipient of numerous awards throughout his career including two Laurence Olivier Awards, the Bessie Award (New York Dance and Performance Award), the prestigious ISPA (International Society for the Performing Arts) Distinguished Artist Award, the Fred and Adele Astaire Award, the Herald Archangel Award at the Edinburgh International Festival, the South Bank Sky Arts Award, and ten Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards for his company, AKC. He was awarded an MBE for services to dance in 2005. In 2022, Khan was announced as the new Chancellor of De Montfort University, and he is also an Honorary Graduate of Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, University of London as well as Roehampton and De Montfort Universities, and an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Laban and The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Khan is an Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells and Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, London as well as Curve.

Angela Towler has had a long professional career dancing with Richard Alston Dance Company and Rambert. She has worked with internationally celebrated choreographers including Christopher Bruce, Wayne McGregor, Matz Ek, Jiri Kylian, to name a few.
She was nominated for a TMA award for Achievement in Dance and the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Female Performance.
She has choreographed many works for Rambert and for BBC, ITV and live events.

She is working with The Royal Ballet School, English National Ballet School teaching contemporary technique and also continues to work with leading companies. She joined Akram Khan Company summer of 2021 as Rehearsal Director.

Art and aesthetics form the warp and weft of the fabric of Pallavi Anand's life. She began dancing almost right from the start - learning Bharatanatyam from her mother, Shalini Shivashankar (who is the Director of the Upahaar School of Dance in London, UK). After her arangetram (debut) in 2008 in Bangalore, Anand continued dancing while studying design - developing her personal aesthetic sensibility. She deepened her immersion into natya under the guidance of teachers at the Bharata Kalanjali School of Natya, Chennai founded by Natyachaaryas, the Dhananjayans as well as with Bragha Bessell. In addition, Anand began training in Mohiniyattam, Mridangam and Nattuvangam, honing her sense of rhythm and musicality. She has also recently completed Phase 1 of G.Venu's Navarasa Sadhana - Koodiyaatam actor training module.

Since 2020, Anand has studied and performed under the mentorship and guidance of Mavin Khoo. It is an artistic relationship that has refined her technique, added nuance to her understanding and continues to peel back layers of the art form.

Anand has presented a variety of solo, duet and group recitals in the UK, India and further afield. One of her performance highlights was a world tour as one of the principal dancers in Akram Khan Company’s production, ‘Outwitting the Devil’.