Dance star Akram Khan returns to roots in last solo show

LONDON: Britain’s best-known choreographer Akram Khan has drawn on his roots for the final solo dance performance of his career, with a show that pays tribute to Indian soldiers who fought in World War I. “Xenos” — which means stranger in Greek — opens with two musicians on stage, playing an interpretation of Indian music in a festive atmosphere. Dressed for a performance, a dancer arrives, stumbling. The lights flicker, the music stalls and the dancer, a former soldier, is overcome by memories of war. For the show, which he choreographed and stars in, the 43-year-old Khan returns to the traditional Indian classical dance kathak that he learned as a boy, and which has been present throughout his career. “That is my home if you like — the most amount of time I spent in my life in one form was in kathak,” he told AFP. But in place of the elegant grace of that dance, Khan´s movements are disrupted.