A JOYOUS AND IMAGINATIVE DANCE THAT CELEBRATES BELONGING AND WONDER

By Sophie Clark | Muck Rack Portfolio | Press Invite

Chotto Desh, a dance by the Akram Khan Company at Sadlers Wells East, is a delightful and inspired piece of art about belonging, imagination, and sense of self. I had me both in awe of the choreography and grinning from ear to ear thanks to the work of Akhram Khan, adapted by Sue Buckmaster from Khan’s Olivier Award-winning solo DESH. 

The performance I saw was danced by Jasper Narvaez’, and although his performance was technically a one-man dance on a single stage, Khan and Buckmaster’s choreography carried the audience from the bustling streets of Bangladesh, to a teen bedroom, to a magical jungle, to a disappointed father’s sitting room, to the essence of freedom. 

I was nervous about being able to take in the dance during a ‘relaxed performance’ at Sadlers Wells East, meaning a performance where the audience — which was predominantly children at a 2pm show — can get up, stretch, and chat a little, but Khan’s ingenious use of props, movement, and unbridled sense of play kept the audience totally wrapt throughout the 50 minute dance. 

I was overcome with total glee at the piece, which infused traditional folk tales with complex understandings of belonging, alongside fusing several styles of dance and martial arts to build a full world around the central, and sole, dancer.

I particularly loved Khan’s use of projection during his sequence about a childhood myth. I found it completely captivating and delightful. There are very few times in my adult life that I get to be told a story like a kid again, and I truly revelled in it.  

I also could not believe that such a joyous and inventive dance came from the same mind that choreographed Sadler’s Wells’ modernized Giselle, a beautiful but dark and ominous dance. I was blown away by Khan’s ability to imagine and create a piece with such levity, knowing his other work is significantly heavier. 

If you have the chance to go to Chotto Desh, I can’t recommend it enough. I hope it is back at Sadlers Wells for a longer run soon.

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Photo Credit: Camilla Greenwell