Star dancers and nuanced collaboration in Akram Khan's Gigenis

DANCE GIGENIS - THE GENERATION OF THE EARTH Akram Khan and guests Esplanade Theatre

- Jocelyn Chng

In this exciting new work co-produced by Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, renowned British choreographer Akram Khan has assembled a star-studded cast of masters in their respective classical dance forms.

Khan himself is a formidable dancer trained in kathak.

As a choreographer and performer, he has broken boundaries by collaborating across different genres and making classical forms accessible to a contemporary, international audience.

Gigenis was based on a story from the Mahabharata about a mother of two sons who reflects on the different stages of her life.

Although told through classical Indian dance forms, the narrative portrayed within the roughly one-hour performance was relatively straightforward, and made easy for an English-speaking audience through the use of a voiceover at pertinent scene transitions.

Kapila Venu, a kutiyattam practitioner, portrayed the main female figure on stage. Hers was the common thread running through the various segments of the performance.