Sufi poetry in vertical motion
Audience members were treated to a wonderful display of contemporary dance earlier this week, as Akram Khan’s production Vertical Road was staged at Katara [Qatar Cultural Village].
The show was brought to Qatar in conjunction with the British Council as part of their efforts to promote cultural understanding and display the “best of British.” And those who took the opportunity to see this award-winning production will surely have agreed that this was one of the most exciting and impressive cultural pieces to have been brought to Qatar so far.
Unfortunately Khan himself was unable to come to Qatar for the performances as he is currently recovering from an injury sustained during rehearsal. However, in a video message played before the show, he discussed the inspiration behind the production, a Sufi poem by Rumi.
The poem discusses “the journey from mineral to vegetable, to animal to man and then to the realm of angels.”
This concept of “death and rebirth” and “creation out of destruction” is found in many eastern traditions and religions, and it is this relationship which forms the basis of the entire show.
While life comes to an end, there is a constant flow of energy through the show which suggests “reawakening” and “rebirth”.
And the seven dancers on stage move as if this energy is flowing directly through their bodies, giving themselves wholly to the performance and creating something truly amazing.
Each dancer displayed their individual excellence at various points during the performance, but one of the most striking things about the show was that the sequences featuring the group working together were even more impressive, mainly down to the innovative and inspirational choreography.
The music, composed for the show by Nitin Sawnhey, contributed to the overall intensity of the piece, with the tribal drums used from the opening serving as a reminder of the energy of life running throughout.
This was echoed by the sounds produced by the dancers themselves, whose breathing could be heard at various points of the show. The effect was to evoke a sense of life, but it also highlighted the inner turmoil and conflict between life and death which is part of the inspiration for the show.
Everything about the production worked perfectly, and the spirituality and vertical journey to which its title refers will surely have been at the forefront of audience members’ minds as they stood and cheered in appreciation at the end of both evenings.
Gulf Times spoke to the producer of the show, Farooq Chaudhry, who expressed his excitement at seeing the efforts to promote culture in Katara, and said that he was already looking forward to coming back and bringing more shows to the country in the future.
He said that while a number of countries around the world use their investment in cultural projects to show off in the international arena, he has been impressed by the vision of officials he has met at Katara.
“The people I have spoken to from Katara, they all seem to have a vision,” he said, adding “they are taking risks with their programming which I think wonderful, as they are really challenging people.”
“The key thing to changing anything is people who have vision and I really believe that the people at Katara have vision,” he argued.
Although the show has no central message, Chaudhry said that he hopes people come away having learnt something about themselves by reflecting differently on a part of their lives.
“I always like to think that if they have experienced something that they have never seen before – that is what I want people to do everywhere,” he said.
He also spoke about the significance of art and tradition in helping to break down cultural boundaries.
“It is absolutely important – it probably does more for cultural relations and diplomatic relations in the world than anything else,” he said, adding “art is absolutely essential, it is a great political ambassador without having to work too hard for it.”
“We should never undermine its importance at any stage,” he added.
[Visit Katara online.]
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