tag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:/blogs/intensive-kathak-course-the-place?p=3Intensive Kathak Course @The Place2018-12-20T10:25:00+00:00Amina Khayyam Dance Companyfalsetag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/55624402018-12-20T10:25:00+00:002018-12-20T10:25:00+00:00Seasons Greetings and all the best for 2019<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/f25ec3e164b669b7ca81266aabdb7ba3a7972f5a/original/akdcxmas19.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/55197202018-11-19T15:27:42+00:002018-11-20T09:01:00+00:00ONE tour ends in praise… <p>The 2018 tour of ONE came to an end last week at Luton Library Theatre to overwhelming praise </p>
<p> </p>
<p>WHAT OUR AUDIENCES SAID <br>“Hypnotic” "mesmerising" </p>
<p>"..thank you for another utterly stunning performance ..evoked so many emotions" </p>
<p>"A tour de force .. a revolutionary performance... " </p>
<p>"Stunning performance... What clarity of movement, what artistry from the musicians and Amina, Astonishing!" </p>
<p>"Very, very occasionally there is a performance where the boundaries of the form are transcended and where there are subtleties and stories and emotions portrayed in a way you have never seen before" </p>
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<p>WHAT THE PRESS SAID </p>
<p>"With a strong abhinaya, Khayyam can reference emotive depths that span from sheer joy to deep sorrow, showing intense artistic negotiation between movement and intention. We cannot but yearn to encounter her again". Pulse </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amina has evolved ONE’S narrative on several occasions since it first premiered at the Musee D' Branly, Paris to explore various current topics, </p>
<p>No doubt the piece will return in the future for Amina to shape further statements </p>
<p>Meanwhile, AKDC will shortly be announcing 2019 tour dates for A Thousand Faces and new project Hum in My Heart</p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/55197192018-11-19T15:24:58+00:002018-11-19T15:26:11+00:00Hum In My Heart project workshops..<p>The company is soon reaching its first stage of workshops for the project exploring mental health. Workshoping in Woking, Birmingham and Luton, Amina will start developing narratives for the new work to premiere as Part 1 in Woking in April 2019. </p>
<p>Hum in My Heart is made site specific in different parts at each place. Each performance will have a new and different story. </p>
<p>The workshops have been immensely contributing to participants – </p>
<p>“I have never spoken about this until now, and now it’s all pouring out” </p>
<p>“ I know I need to speak about this”</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/c11dab06d2f50ad14cac4b89e2f87ed98a1fbe5b/original/hum.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_left border_" /></p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/53789522018-08-08T10:23:26+01:002018-08-08T10:24:13+01:00 AKDC company dancer Jane Chan blogs from MEVUELVES LORCA FESTIVAL /KATHAK FLAMENCO COLLABORATION<p>DAY ONE </p>
<p>AKDC company dancer Jane Chan shares her account of the ONE collaboration between Amina Khayyam and Belen Maya in Laroles – Me Vuelves Lorca Festival </p>
<p>The long anticipated collaboration of ONE between Amina Khayyam and Belen Maya began as the company travels from London to Laroles. After two flights from London to Madrid, Madrid to Granada and a long two hour drive weaving along the Lorca mountains as the sun set, we finally arrived in a beautiful village full of white houses with fig, almond, grapes trees along the road, with the smell of fresh laundry and the sound of water streaming down the mountains. </p>
<p>We were then greeted with Spanish omelettes and a stunning view of the village, where life unfolds before us. </p>
<p>As the stars appear, we venture to Me Vuelves Lorca Festival' soutdoor amphitheatre with the mountains as the backdrop for an evening of energetic Cuban music which brought the audience to their feet. </p>
<p>Amina, Belen and our highly reputable musicians: Lucy and Noelia (vocals), Debasish (tabla), Alastair (cello) and Guiliano (guitar) are keen to start getting to know each other with their crafts. Because none of us can wait any longer, our host / artistic director of Me Vuelves Lorca Festival, Anna and the company moved things around in her beautiful casa blanca and we started straight away in a simple but gorgeous room underground room away from the scorching Spanish sun. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Debasish kicked off with some frenzy joyous teental compositions and Noelia could not help it but join in with her cajon. It was as simple as that, everyone in the room is tapping away, and there were no ice breaking needed. </p>
<p>Followed by Lucy and Noelia with one song each, transporting us with their powerful and amazingly soulful voices that left the room in silence, overwhelmed with emotions. Not everyone in the room shares the same language but music, rhythms and emotions brought us together. </p>
<p>May the dance, music, rhythms, cultures, and characters collide. I very much look forward to the coming few days. </p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/53733452018-08-03T13:23:30+01:002018-08-03T15:41:50+01:00Collaboration with Belen Maya / Me Vuelves Lorca Festival<p> </p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/cd6d6f39a81dd5b6e1d40c1e36008bd6e6e2f7e8/original/larolesfb.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>This weekend the company journeys deep into Lorca’s mountains of Andalusia to begin an exciting and ambitious collaboration exploring kathak’s connection with roma/flamenco for the Me Vuelves Lorca Festival. </p>
<p>Amina Khayyam will lead her company of musicians Debasish Mukherjee, Lucy Rahman, Alastair Morgan with Jane Chan on ‘paranth’ and joined by the very talented and versatile guitarist Guiliano Modarelli, to work with roma flamenco star Belen Maya, who will be joined by flamenco vocalist Noelia la Negri. </p>
<p>Using AKDC’s kathak production - ONE as the structure, the week long residency forms the beginning of looking beyond the obvious commonalities of rhythmic patterns and footwork. “We can’t deny that there are similarities, but what is at the heart of the connection... .I want to look at the narratives and emotions. Both forms can be highly passionate and emotive. There is a lot of pain and passion expressed in roma/flamenco, and I am interested in that connection”says Amina, “ I am really looking forward to see what the soul searching magic Lucy will bring working with the Noelia. And I am really looking forward to Guiliano’s approach with his Indian based/sarod like approach to the guitar with the flamenco rhythms” </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe class="justify_inline" data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="eXCRyTsyL_c" data-video-thumb-url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/eXCRyTsyL_c/mqdefault.jpg" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eXCRyTsyL_c?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" height="180" width="320" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p>
<p><em>“Our work ONE explores the subject of global refugee situation and my recent work with the roma community here in UK is leading me to find more about their contemporary narratives and situation”,</em> continues Amina, “<em>both Belen and I are keen to not just look at traditional stories, but also stories reflecting what is happening today. We both use our art forms to speak about injustice, particularly towards women, giving voice to the voiceless, so it was really exciting when the director of Me Vuelves Lorca Festival, Anna Kemp initiated the collaboration. Anna has stayed connected with the company’s work since we staged Yerma in Malaga in 2014.” </em></p>
<p>The week long residency will culminate in a performance on Aug 10thin the outdoor theatre at Laroles. AKDC is working to further develop the collaboration into a full production to bring the collaboration to UK and a European tour.</p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/52975642018-06-15T17:45:04+01:002018-06-15T18:00:22+01:00Delighted and proud to receive Feminist Review Trust funding<p>We are delighted and proud to be awarded funding from the Feminist Review Trust for a workshop programme of a new project – ‘The Hum In My Heart’ - exploring mental health amongst south Asian women particularly from the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities in inner cities of Luton, East London, Birmingham and Woking.</p>
<p> <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/c11dab06d2f50ad14cac4b89e2f87ed98a1fbe5b/original/hum.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>The Company will provide non-threatening ‘environments’ to encourage women to share experiences, feel the presence of one another and become aware of each other’s inner-most senses and states. At their disposal, they will have the freedom to use any artistic form - dance sequences, story tableaux, textile or film/digital work, self authored or made with our participation, which would be to facilitate, guide and support the process using our company of professional performers and storytellers with digital capacity, From these experiences, fears and aspirations, AKDC will make a full length production of ‘The Hum in My Heart' to tour in 2019/20.</p>
<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/84ea31ca083667405c8bbcc6685cf816465f80b0/original/fr-trust-logo.jpg/!!/b:W1sic2l6ZSIsIm1lZGl1bSJdXQ==.jpg" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/52072852018-04-28T12:09:16+01:002018-06-15T17:46:43+01:00ONE summer dates <p><span class="font_regular">Following recovery from shoulder surgery Amina Khayyam is back on the road for a short stint of dates of her intimate piece ONE which also sees a unique and exciting collaboration of Kathak and Roma/Flamenco with acclaimed artist Belen Maya this August in the 'Lorca' mountains of Andalusia, Spain.</span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">23 May – South St Arts, Reading <br>31 May – Brunel Arts, Uxbridge</span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/0920453644798bf745be03f0096dc29079e2e363/original/oneloresjpg.jpg/!!/b:W10=.jpg" class="size_l justify_left border_" /></span></p>
<p><br> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/49894542017-12-22T11:27:14+00:002017-12-22T11:27:14+00:00Seasons Greetings....<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/db4c81ebffb18ae96245f04719195cbfb1131799/original/akdcxmas2018.jpg" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/48376352017-09-05T14:26:05+01:002017-09-05T14:27:34+01:00A NEW REWORKING OF ONE<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/30f01654e0a37309af07fb463ccdc8289a9768b8/large/1493920-orig.jpg?1379007425" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Sensitised by the global refugee issue, <strong>Amina Khayyam</strong> returns to the fundamental principle of Indian philosophy and classical arts of the cyclic phenomenon, where there is no beginning nor an end, to propose that we are all but refugees of time undermining how we become territorial of our habitat. </p>
<p>Incorporating Nritta (pure dance) and Nritya (expression of narrative), the kathak takes you on a memorable journey, through the use of costume, movement, space and music to capture the first beat of time and nest it until it becomes the ‘one’ again. </p>
<p>In the new rewiring she is joined once again by an ensemble of highly reputable musicians, <strong>Debasish Mukherjee</strong> (tabla),<strong> Lucy Rahman</strong> (vocals), <strong>Alastair Morgan </strong>(Cello)</p>
<p><em>One performs at <a contents="Dance Woking/Rhoda McGaw on Nov 15th. &nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.dancewoking.com/event-category/akdc/" target="_blank">Dance Woking/Rhoda McGaw on Nov 15th. </a>Further dates to be added</em></p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/48345262017-09-01T18:07:08+01:002017-09-09T12:09:43+01:00A THOUSAND FACES RETURNS FOR AUTUMN 2017 DATES /NETHERLANDS /UK<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/a12b1596c62ed89fbf5f86fd8754bb21179545ef/original/atftite.jpg?1484555588" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Following fast on the heels of Sluts success at Edfringe 2017, AKDC hits the road for a mini-tour of A Thousand Faces in Netherlands and UK</p>
<p>Featuring Amina Khayyam using ang abhinaya , A THOUSAND FACES is a bold dance-theatre that subverts imagery of Bollywood beauty and Hollywood glamour to explore the objectification of women in indiscriminate abuse and violence, highlighting acid attacks against women. </p>
<p>Ang Abhinaya is part of Kathak that is often paid less attention to in its current progression within a neo-classical approach. However, Amina Khayyam, renowned for her abhinaya, has developed new approaches in this new work by bringing influences of European experimental forms of physical theatre and mime movement to give the piece a wholly unique and innovative treatment, highlighting the contemporary condition. </p>
<p>Features live music - Debasish Mukherjee on tabla, Lucy Rahman on vocals and Alastair Morgan on cello.</p>
<p>What Audiences have been saying</p>
<p><em>“a triumph… we were all spellbound” <br> <br>"a wonderful show! I came away very moved by the whole performance" <br> <br>"Just watched Amina Khayyam in her beautiful and powerful piece... <br> <br>"Extraordinary theatre piece. A gripping, honest story unveiling the deep, inner turmoil of acid-attack victims" <br> <br>"Brilliant performance! Congratulations to all the company"</em></p>
<p>What the Press has been saying</p>
<p>“Beautifully choreographed, flawlessly executed and left the audience breathless …Blending classical Indian dance with physical theatre was a masterstroke” PULSE MAGAZINE </p>
<p>"A powerful hard-hitting emotional production that had integrity, honesty and reality at its core” BBC</p>
<p> </p>
<p>choreography: Amina Khayyam <br>performers: Jane Chan, Harmage S. Kalirai, Amina Khayyam musicians: Debasish Mukherjee, Lucy Rahman, Alastair Morgan <br>costume: Keith Khan dramaturgy: Hardial S. Rai lighting: and production: Stuart Walton <br>projection design Louise Rhoades-Brown <br>creatively co-produced with zeroculture and made at Brunel Arts <br>Originally made with support from Akademi, Rich Mix, Cockpit Theatre, Sampad and mac birmingham</p>
<p><a contents="Click here for AUTUMN TOUR" data-link-label="A Thousand Faces" data-link-type="page" href="/a-thousand-faces" target="_blank">Click here for AUTUMN TOUR</a></p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/48344672017-09-01T17:47:52+01:002017-09-01T17:50:48+01:00PRAISE FOR SLUT @EDFRINGE 2017<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/cb75fa4d158f2e6094dbc1a9b6c0702da51cf117/original/itsawrap.jpg?1504283818" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p><span class="font_regular">AKDC wrapped up Slut at Edinburgh Festival Fringe leaving deep impactful responses from both audience & professional – </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><em>"It was so good to see a dance piece that tackles serious issues and does it so beautifully combining traditional Kathak with contemporary dance moves. There were whole sections where I was close to tears... The piece can be read on many different levels"</em> - Juliana Brustik </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><em>"..the best show I've seen on how women are manipulated and disempowered. Go."</em> - Sally Crozier </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><em>"A wonderful, moving piece of work that is a thoughtful, multidimensional commentary on questions of feminism that are so often treated with the same narrative" </em>- Jo Troll </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><em>"The ending had me smiling from ear to ear" </em>- Catherine Bagot </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><em>“Despite the important historical connection that storytelling has to dance, basing a contemporary dance piece on a narrative can sound its death knell, as it so often straight-jackets the choreography unnecessarily. However, this couldn’t be less so for Amina Khayyam Dance Company’s recent work...,which is remarkable for its narrative clarity, while remaining boldly contemporary in style" </em>Robert Dow </span></p>
<p><span class="font_regular"><em>"...show is delivered with memorable pain and passion by a company who clearly care very deeply about the tale they tell"</em> - Joyce McMillan /Scotsman </span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a contents="Click here for production images" data-link-label="Slut " data-link-type="page" href="/slut">Click here for production images</a></p>
<p>Pix by WynChan</p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/47363942017-06-07T13:02:12+01:002017-06-07T13:26:33+01:00AKDC returns to EDFRINGE<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/24d3330775593bcc94be1ed7436db752f81cfd2e/large/slutwebimage.jpg?1496666942" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>Aiming to continue to build our profile at Edfringe, AKDC returns with a bold new dance-theatre piece SLUT. </p>
<p>Slut is an ongoing development of kathak’s<em> ang abhinaya </em>by Amina Khayyam in which she steps up the collaboration with physical theatre/mime seen recently in A THOUSAND FACES “Blending classical Indian dance with physical theatre was a masterstroke” Pulse Magazine </p>
<p>In <em>Slut,</em> Amina works with three versatile performers - Jane Chan, Parbati Chaudhury and Nasia Kelepeshi to push further the collaborative development. </p>
<p>But <em>Slut </em>is much more than that for Amina. In her quest to tell stories from issues that affect marginalised women not just from the mainstream but from within their communities as she did for her recent productions of <em>Yerma</em> and <em>A Thousand Faces</em>, she explores issues of sexual grooming across culture and race while challenging labels given to women who do not conform to expectation. </p>
<p>The new production draws the same creative team from the company’s recent productions; however despite a staunch believer of live music for Kathak, Amina for the first time will be making a production with recorded music. She says “<em>Edinburgh Fringe is a tight turnaround and highly demanding, so at this stage the piece’s narrative will be played to a recorded soundtrack for which we have asked John –Marc Gowans who provided the memorable ‘courtship’ section for A Thousand Faces. Perhaps when the production tours, we may resort to live music, but we will certainly miss Debesish’s tabla and Lucy’s vocals – I am already missing them” </em></p>
<p><a contents="EdFringe&nbsp;Aug 4th – 27th /except 7th 14th &amp; 21st&nbsp;11.45am&nbsp;Summerhall (venue 26)&nbsp;festival17.summerhall.co.uk&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://festival17.summerhall.co.uk/event/slut/" target="_blank">EdFringe </a></p>
<p><a contents="EdFringe&nbsp;Aug 4th – 27th /except 7th 14th &amp; 21st&nbsp;11.45am&nbsp;Summerhall (venue 26)&nbsp;festival17.summerhall.co.uk&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://festival17.summerhall.co.uk/event/slut/" target="_blank">Aug 4th – 27th /except 7th 14th & 21st </a></p>
<p><a contents="EdFringe&nbsp;Aug 4th – 27th /except 7th 14th &amp; 21st&nbsp;11.45am&nbsp;Summerhall (venue 26)&nbsp;festival17.summerhall.co.uk&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://festival17.summerhall.co.uk/event/slut/" target="_blank">11.45am </a></p>
<p><a contents="EdFringe&nbsp;Aug 4th – 27th /except 7th 14th &amp; 21st&nbsp;11.45am&nbsp;Summerhall (venue 26)&nbsp;festival17.summerhall.co.uk&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://festival17.summerhall.co.uk/event/slut/" target="_blank">Summerhall (venue 26) </a></p>
<p><a contents="EdFringe&nbsp;Aug 4th – 27th /except 7th 14th &amp; 21st&nbsp;11.45am&nbsp;Summerhall (venue 26)&nbsp;festival17.summerhall.co.uk&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://festival17.summerhall.co.uk/event/slut/" target="_blank">festival17.summerhall.co.uk </a></p>
<p><em>"Summerhall has effectively rewired the Fringe, becoming home to some of the most exciting work at the Festival"</em> THE STAGE AUGUST 2016</p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/46172392017-03-05T14:28:24+00:002017-03-05T14:28:24+00:00A THOUSAND FACES OPENS AT MAC BIRMINGHAM<p><span class="font_regular">Standing ovations and incredible feedback greeted the opening of A THOUSAND FACES – at mac birmingham last week! </span><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/a12b1596c62ed89fbf5f86fd8754bb21179545ef/original/atftite.jpg?1484555588" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></p>
<p>A successful outreach programme brought in schools and womens groups to pack three shows!<br><br>Some audience responses<br><br><em>"a wonderful show! I came away very moved by the whole performance"</em> <br><br><em>"Just watched Amina Khayyam in her beautiful and powerful piece A Thousand Faces .."<br><br>"Extraordinary theatre piece. A gripping, honest story unveiling the deep, inner turmoil of acid-attack victims"</em><br><br><em>"Brilliant performance! Congratulations to all the company"</em></p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/45515002017-01-16T08:33:22+00:002017-01-16T08:33:22+00:00A THOUSAND FACES / SPRING TOUR DATES<p>Join us on the tour of A Thousand Faces this spring in selected intimate spaces before scaled for further touring later in the year <br> <br>Featuring Amina Khayyam using ang abhinaya (technique of communication), A THOUSAND FACES is a bold dance-theatre that subverts imagery of Bollywood beauty and Hollywood glamour to explore the objectification of women in indiscriminate abuse and violence. <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/a12b1596c62ed89fbf5f86fd8754bb21179545ef/original/atftite.jpg?1484555588" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br> <br>Ang Abhinaya is part of Kathak that is often paid less attention to in its current progression within a neo-classical approach. However, Amina Khayyam, renowned for her abhinaya, has developed new approaches in this new work by bringing influences of European experimental forms of physical theatre and mime movement to give the piece a wholly unique and innovative treatment, highlighting the contemporary condition. <br> <br>Features live music<br><br><a contents="Full tour schedule" data-link-label="Touring" data-link-type="page" href="/touring">Full tour schedule</a></p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/45110112016-12-14T20:47:00+00:002016-12-16T11:01:19+00:00GOING DUTCH WITH YERMA…<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/8e4f0f78a3ef101d42c2ddfc40f7c262d34c3bee/original/poster.jpg?1481753773" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><br><strong>With standing ovations, rave reviews, and challenging Q&As,</strong> we share some more captured moments on the road, of tech runs and rehearsals to share of the recent Netherlands tour on our <a contents="Facebook page&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/aminakhayyamdance/" target="_blank">Facebook page </a><br> <br>We thank all involved in particular - Leo Spreksel of Korzo and the Indian Dance Festival who said of Yerma -- <em>“Intense performance that gets under your skin. A very interesting combination of Kathak, western movement techniques and live music that we don’t see very often in our festival.” </em><br> <br>And big thanks to JG Baggerman and Lucienne van der Mijle of GPAG “<em>The work of Amina Khayyam challenges big issues of today’s society, especially where they concern (mis)treatment of women. Heavy subjects that never become pathetic or “over expressed” during the show. We hope that the tour with Yerma in Holland will be the beginning of a long and fruitful co-operationn between Amina Khayyam Company and GPAG.” </em><br> <br>And in case you missed the reviews - <a contents="http://www.theaterkrant.nl/recensie/yerma/amina-khayyam-dance-company/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.theaterkrant.nl/recensie/yerma/amina-khayyam-dance-company/" target="_blank">http://www.theaterkrant.nl/recensie/yerma/amina-khayyam-dance-company/</a></p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/42901692016-07-22T13:00:33+01:002016-07-22T13:01:15+01:00YERMA Netherlands dates announced <p>AKDC is pleased to announce Yerma will be touring Netherlands for four dates starting on 25th Oct at Korzo Indian Dans Festival and follow on 26th Oct in Eindhoven, 27th in Groningen, and 28th in Drachten. <br> <br>Before flying off to Netherlands, the company will showcase Yerma at the Antonin Artaud Theatre, Brunel Universiity on Oct 19th. <br> <br>The tour comes just after the R&D phase of SLUT which Amina is currently working on. <br><br>“I get really excited taking Yerma to new places, and I am particularly excited to find new audiences for her in Europe” so says Amina. Adding “ I am looking forward to finding new things about Yerma every time I perform her, so much has changed in the three years since we started our journey” <br> <br><a contents="Full schedule here." data-link-label="Touring" data-link-type="page" href="/touring">Full schedule here.</a></p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/42799192016-07-15T08:46:17+01:002016-07-15T09:03:06+01:00People who lived In the Skies: AKDC's new outdoor/children’s show<p>As Amina Khayyam prepares to start on her major project for this year – SLUT, we briefly talk to her about the newly created outdoor family show PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN THE SKIES, which was performed last Saturday for the first time at Dance Woking’s Party In the Park. <br> <br>The Show will be touring nationally in various outdoor shows <br><br><em><a contents="Read chat with Amina why she created the show" data-link-label="Interview with Amina Khayyam: People In the Skies" data-link-type="page" href="/interview-with-amina-khayyam-people-in-the-skies">Read chat with Amina why she created the show</a></em></p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/40943582016-03-18T14:53:44+00:002017-01-15T23:52:22+00:00A new collaboration - MEETING NAZRUL<p>In between touring YERMA, Amina Khayyam has been working collaboratively with Yerma’s vocalist Lucy Rahman and AKDC’s tabla-ist Debasish Mukherjee on a unique project - MEETING NAZRUL, featuring the songs and poems of Kazi Nazrul Islam – the giant of Bengali Literature and arts heralded Bangladesh’s poet laureate who from 1949 to his death in 1976 never spoke a word. </p>
<p>Lucy’s haunting vocals set the expectation for the emotionally laden kathak movement of Amina Khayyam to bring to life the topicality of Nazrul Islam’s songs and writings. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/f51627233fe6029f67ad39f53dab074851cde7b7/medium/wwmn2lores.jpg?0" class="size_m justify_left border_" /></p>
<p><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>MEETING NAZRUL <a contents="The Hat Factory&nbsp;24 Mar /&nbsp;Rich Mix LondonMIX 25 Mar - " data-link-label="Touring" data-link-type="page" href="/touring">The Hat Factory 24 Mar / Rich Mix LondonMIX 25 Mar - </a>Both shows at 7.30pm </p>
<p><a contents="https://www.facebook.com/The-Artta-672658869504285/" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/The-Artta-672658869504285/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/The-Artta-672658869504285/</a></p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/40360612016-02-11T12:50:10+00:002016-02-11T12:57:51+00:00Back on the road with YERMA<p>Our acclaimed production Yerma is back this spring for the fourth touring run! <br> <br>“Powerful, poignant kathak dance…sharply stylized.. dramatically alert, thematically rich and ultimately moving “ <br> <br>Says Amina of touring Yerma again – “It is my dream to take Yerma to every town and city in the UK, so I get excited everytime we get in that van and drive to introduce her to new audiences” </p>
<p>Choreographed by Amina Khayyam to Indian neoclassical dance – Kathak, Yerma features ‘spectacular live music’ featuring cello and world renowned musicians – Debasish Mukherjee on tabla and Lucy Rahman on vocals. It tells the anguishing story of a woman in Federico Garcia Lorca’s savage yet lyrical play who suffers the heart breaking social torment of a childless marriage, which forces her to commit a horrific and irrevocable act. Amina makes Yerma relevant to today’s new and marginalised communities of Britain and Europe, from its original setting of rural patriarchal Spain of nineteenth century.</p>
<p><br><a contents="SPRING TOUR" data-link-label="Touring" data-link-type="page" href="/touring" target="_blank">SPRING TOUR</a></p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/38373432015-09-01T11:11:28+01:002017-01-15T23:52:22+00:00IT'S A WRAP AT EDINBURGH FESTIVAL WITH RAVE REVIEWS FOR YERMA<div>
<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/577977f4560530a1b7166078a003e26c84c152f3/large/dsc-1376.jpg?1441102534" class="size_xl justify_left border_" /><br><span lang="EN-US">4**** / The Scotsman (Kelly Apter</span><br><i><span lang="EN-US">“Khayyam has a strong command of Kathak…. takes us deep into Yerma’s soul”</span></i><u><span lang="EN-US"> <a href="http://www.wow247.co.uk/2015/08/20/dance-review-yerma/">http://www.wow247.co.uk/2015/08/20/dance-review-yerma/</a></span></u><u><span lang="EN-US"> </span></u>
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<p><br>4**** / The Herald (Keith Bruce) <br>“highest production values are in evidence throughout”<br><a contents="http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/13617476.Fringe_Dance_review__Yerma__New_Town_Theatre/&nbsp;" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/13617476.Fringe_Dance_review__Yerma__New_Town_Theatre/" target="_blank">http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/13617476.Fringe_Dance_review__Yerma__New_Town_Theatre/ </a></p>
<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -apple-system-font; line-height: 16px;"><br><span lang="EN-US">4**** / The List (Donald Hutera)</span><br><i><span lang="EN-US">“Powerful, poignant kathak dance…</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">sharply stylized.. dramatically alert, thematically rich and ultimately moving “ </span></i><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/73288-yerma/">https://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/73288-yerma/</a></span><br> </p>
<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -apple-system-font; line-height: 16px;"><span lang="EN-US">4**** / FestMag (Lucy Ribchester)</span><br><i><span lang="EN-US">“This isn’t dance narrative as we know it but something that burrows much deeper into the emotional roots of Lorca’s play, finding a poetry of its own”</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> <a href="https://www.festmag.co.uk/features/102961-yerma">https://www.festmag.co.uk/features/102961-yerma</a></span> <br> </p>
<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -apple-system-font; line-height: 16px;"><span lang="EN-US">4**** / Broadway Baby</span><br><i><span lang="EN-US">“</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">The choreography is exquisite… breathtaking”</span></i><br><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.broadwaybaby.com/shows/yerma/707487">http://www.broadwaybaby.com/shows/yerma/707487</a></span> <br> </p>
<p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -apple-system-font; line-height: 16px;"><span lang="EN-US">4**** / Edfest Mag</span><br><i><span lang="EN-US">“emotive, well-choreographed. The highlight is Yerma’s expressive eyes. For a dancer to be able to tell the entirety of the narrative just through her eyes, it’s astonishing” </span></i><span lang="EN-US">http://www.edfestmag.com/yerma/</span></p>
<p><br><span lang="EN-US">TOTAL THEATRE (Dorothy Max Prior )</span><br><i><span lang="EN-US"> </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">“</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US">an intense and accomplished demonstration of the power of movement-based theatre to tell stories”</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> </span><br><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://totaltheatre.org.uk/amina-khayyam-dance-co-yerma/">http://totaltheatre.org.uk/amina-khayyam-dance-co-yerma/</a></span></p>
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</div>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/37437362015-06-16T09:04:47+01:002017-01-15T23:52:22+00:00AKDC announces Edinburgh Festival Fringe Dates<br>Amina Khayyam Dance Co is excited to announce news that their acclaimed production YERMA will be at the Edinburgh Festival 2015.<br> <br>Yerma, which received the accolade “<em>as the top ten productions of 2014 in Mumbai</em>” by the Hindustan Times, will play at the <strong>New Town Theatre </strong>for the duration of the Festival from 6<sup>th</sup> to 30<sup>th</sup> August, as part of the <strong>Universal Arts (Edinburgh)</strong> programme of international theatre, music and dance.<br> <br> <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/de8cf60bfc6c28f36b42ddcdf9c479d9aa189e53/original/yermaedfringe.jpg?1434442553" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br> <br> <br>Adapted to the Edinburgh stage and performed to spectacular live music featuring cello and world renowned musicians – Debasish Mukherjee on tabla and Lucy Rahman on vocals, Yerma is set to Indian neoclassical dance – Kathak. The production tells the anguishing story of a woman in Federico Garcia Lorca’s savage yet lyrical play who suffers the heart breaking social torment of a childless marriage, which forces her to commit a horrific and irrevocable act.<br> <br>AKDC’s Yerma is made relevant for today’s new and marginalised communities of Britain and Europe, from its original setting in rural patriarchal Spain of nineteenth century<br> <br>Says Amina - <em>“I am super excited to perform YERMA at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year as we’ve had a lot of interest in the show and what better way than to showcase the work for all the world to see. Hopefully it will extend the prospect and introduce the company to a larger and wider audience”</em><br> <br>Universal Arts has been programming and producing award-winning Fringe productions for 26 years – HERALD ARCHANGEL AWARD WINNERS 2009 for record of top international theatre at the Fringe; “dedicated to quality” <em>Daily Telegraph; </em>“a long record of welcoming quality international work” <em>The List</em><br> <br>Venue details<br> <br><a contents="New Town Theatre (" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.universalartsfestival.com" target="_blank"><strong>New Town Theatre</strong> (</a>venue 7)<br>96 George Street EH2 3DH<br> <br>Performance Times<br> <br>6 – 30 August (not Tuesdays)<br>14.00 (60 mins)<br> <br>For Tickets:<br>£10 (£8) Family ticket £24<br>Fringe box office 0131 226 0000<br>Venue box office (from 5 Aug) 0131 220 0143<br><a href="http://www.universalartsfestival.com/">www.universalartsfestival.com</a>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/36831872015-04-30T01:17:36+01:002015-04-30T01:17:36+01:00AKDC Kathak classes resume <br>Back for the summer term, AKDC Kathak classes re-start this week with Jane Chan teaching beginners class, while Amina Khayyam, after taking a break for a year, will teach the advance class from May 27th.<br> <br><a contents="Full details here" data-link-label="akdcclass2015.jpg" data-link-type="file" href="/files/186600/akdcclass2015.jpg" target="_blank">Full details here</a><br> Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/35105322015-02-06T15:10:03+00:002017-01-15T23:52:22+00:00WHY ORGANISATIONS LIKE LIAISE ARE SO IMPORTANT...<br><em>AKDC has begun this year consolidating its work in Woking, where a productive partnership has blossomed with Liaise, a women’s network centre, a partnership which also has a relation with Dance Woking. Here we ask Ishrat Ahmad, Liaise’s co-ordinator, how working with Amina has benefitted their women…</em><br><strong> <br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/dd7bb3c0dfae4dd35a811ffc5f48042f771c17f4/original/e4076d2a05ca9801914cb682f86fad4f.jpg?1423235354" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></strong><br><br> <br><strong>WHAT IS LIAISE?</strong><br> <br>Liaise Women Centre started about 15 yeas ago, a pilot project to motivate and empower women and to see if a women only centre can be effective; the centre is predominantly run by volunteers.<br> <br>We provide safe and supportive environment for women to network, learn new skills or get advice and information on a range of issues and skills including health, interview skills, building self esteem, art classes, learning English as well as other languages.<br><br> <br><strong>WHO ARE THE WOMEN WHO COME TO LIAISE?</strong><br> <br>Liaise welcomes all women who live or work in Woking, regardless of culture, age, religion and sexuality.<br> <br>We have a range of women who visit us regularly from many different cultural backgrounds – Woking is thriving with many different nationals i.e. Pakistani, Portuguese, Arabic, Sri Lankan, Nepalese, Bangladeshi, Latin American, English, Syrian, Palestinian, Chinese, Aga Khanis, Ismailis, Polish, Spanish as well as Indian from many language background such as Pubjabi, Gujerati, Tamil, Hindi etc.<br> <br>We have young mothers who are either new in the area or lonely and bored at home, jobless, new arrivals in UK, women suffering from domestic violence or from post-natal depression. We offer support and advice on all the areas and no one is turned away. We also offer counseling therapy as also therapy through activities such as art classes. Our recent engagement with Amina saw us bring classical dance and music into the equation.<br><br> <br><strong>HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING AT LIAISE?</strong><br> <br>I have been with Liaise for almost fourteen years! My knowledge of the local communities and understanding of different cultures has helped me to engage with various different community groups.<br><br> <br><strong>AND HOW LONG WITH AMINA?</strong><br> <br>Well, I first met Amina many years ago when she did a residency project in Woking, which I attended. She impressed me and I knew I wanted to work with her. Few years later, I approached her to work on a project but unfortunately she was busy at that time. Then to my delight Amina called me to deliver a dance project called ‘Bol’ in 2011. And since then we have been working together with the local women in the area. I feel privileged to have the partnership and despite the cut in funding Amina continues to inspire me to continue the much needed and important work here at Liaise.<br><br> <br><strong>WHY IS WORKING WITH AMINA IMPORTANT FOR YOU?</strong><br> <br>Amina’s work is very important to us and particularly to me - we are both passionate about helping and empowering women. Her work deals with real issues women face all over the world, and being a community group that helps and support such women it is a partnership that I value. Her work clearly reflects ours, as she focuses on universal issues, which perfectly lend to each other's work. We both have the same goals but very different approach in delivering. It makes it exciting to bring together her expertise and my knowledge of the communities with rewarding outcome!<br> <br>Amina has an organic and natural approach to the women, she treats situations sensitively, a unique and a must quality as we work with sensitive issues with extremely vulnerable women. As a result, women feel comfortable with her and are drawn to her immediately. This is a testimony as how quickly they embraced dance and music – subjects, which are still taboo with many women I work with.<br> <br>We realised there was a gap in our activities we offered, particularly with creative focus. Amina now fills that gap with her wonderful ways of communicating through dance and story telling. It’s a cathartic release and artistic expression of feeling that can only be expressed through the use of body and mind. The use of <em>Abhinaya</em> and <em>Mudras</em> are both beautiful and effective. It is aesthetically pleasing and doesn't require any language.<br> <br>It is very important that Amina continues the work she is doing with us, as for thousand of years dance has been a release of emotion. Women are familiar with dance but did not know there's a more to it then dancing at wedding parties and watching it in Bollywood movies. Her sessions are effective for all cultural groups that use Liaise. She brings universal stories to women and encourages them to share their own stories, while emphasising the importance of physical and nurturing of mental well-being through dance.<br><br> <br><strong>HOW DO YOU THINK YOU BOTH COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER’s WORK?</strong><br> <br>We complement our work as we both bring a holistic approach to delivering projects. I have developed a trusting relationship with the women over the years and evidently women are taken in by Amina’s approach and empathy to each other in the group. We have diverse groups here who speaks many different languages, but Amina is able to communicate to all even without the knowledge of all the languages.<br> <br>Another aspect of working with Amina is that she is able to bring her performance work to our local theatre - Rhoda Mcgaw in association with Woking Dance. Recently over 80 of our women attended the performance of YERMA there, most of whom were stepping into a professional theatre for the first time.<br> <br>It is our intention that our women also get a high quality artistic experience and I know Amina is passionately working to reach the communities, particularly the hard to reach. I know she has been very successful in bringing women into mainstream theatres all over the country, in places such as London, Birmingham, Brighton, Luton and Crawley. This is a huge and challenging undertaking and I truly believe this would not have been possible without her engagement at grass root level.<br><br> <br><strong>WHAT KIND OF PRODUCTIONS WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN FUTURE ?</strong><br> <br>I would like Amina to continue creating work of high standard that allows women to access and experience visiting a theatre.<br>Most of the groups I work with are from traditional orthodox religious background, and are a tough group to sell the idea of watching a show in a theatre. Perhaps a good way for us to break that barrier is by presenting matinee shows for ‘women only’. I’m confident once they’ve seen Amina’s work on stage, they too will come to see the shows with a mixed audience and during the conventional evening time. One step at a time is what it requires and a good knowledge of the community is essential. Still a long way to go!<br> <br>And finally, in terms of the work, it is also important to find narrative that helps and engage women, and equally that which educates and informs them. We are looking forward to A THOUSAND FACES when it comes here in the autumn whose theme Amina has already touched in her workshops. I would like to see Amina continue what she is already doing, which is the work that is relevant for today's disenfranchised women and the culture and society around them.<br> <br><em>Liaise Women Centre is based at the Maybury Centre in Woking – 01483 599 090. </em><br> Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/34700112015-01-16T12:46:23+00:002017-01-15T23:52:22+00:00YERMA – TOP TEN SHOWS OF 2014 IN MUMBAI !<br>AKDC is humbled with news that YERMA has been selected by the Hindustan Times (htcafe) as the top ten productions of 2014 in Mumbai.<br><br>The Mumbai show at NCPA – Dec 5 was part of the Centrestage Festival and ended our autumn 2014 tour which also saw us take Yerma to Malaga.<br><br>Yerma will be seen in London soon – at Rich Mix / March 21st..<br><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/9bf984f73c814444e0bdeef5ef4f9db5f87bd4c5/original/deepatopten.jpg?1421412316" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/34142042014-12-18T18:04:37+00:002014-12-18T18:05:34+00:00HAT FACTORY DATE MOVED TO 2015 AUTUMN TOUR SCHEDULE<br>AKDC wishes to inform that the - A THOUSAND FACES date at The Hat Factory Luton (26th Feb) has now been incorporated into the full tour schedule of autumn 2015 – which will be announced shortly.<br> Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/33268552014-11-25T14:55:51+00:002017-01-15T23:52:22+00:00Amina Khayyam & Jaf Shah on A THOUSAND FACES<br>As AKDC premieres its new work A THOUSAND FACES at the mac birmingham, we talk to Amina Khayyam and to Jaf Shah from Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) who have supported the making of the work,<br><br><strong>What are your reasons for making this work?</strong><br>Amina Khayyam: Last year I was asked by Akademi to present an evening of dance for a festival celebrating 43 years of independence for Bangladesh at Rich Mix. However I had a different attitude to celebrating the idea of ‘independence’. I remember as a child hearing stories of violence against women like rape and acid attacks, yet saw very few being punished for these heinous crimes. The situation has not changed much, although great work is being done by NGOs like ASTI. So, I decided to explore a narrative about women who have a very different sense of what ‘independence’ means to them. What was a ‘work in progress’ piece developed for the festival has now been developed to a full-scale piece which explores the theme of acid violence.<br><br><strong>What is ASTI?</strong><br>Jaf Shah: ASTI is a UK charity and the only international organisation whose sole purpose is to end acid violence, founded in 2002 and now works with a network of six Acid Survivors Foundations in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Uganda that it has helped to form. ASTI has helped provide medical expertise and training to our partners, raised valuable funds to support survivors of acid attacks and helped change laws.<br><br><strong>What would you say are ASTI’s greatest achievements?</strong><br>The incidence of recorded acid violence has fallen from 500 cases in 2002 to less than 100 in 2012 in Bangladesh – over a 70% reduction. There are a number of factors that contributed to this reduction. It is generally recognised that the change in law was a key contributory factor as was increased awareness. With the support of ASTI, its local partner, Acid Survivors Foundation Bangladesh (ASF B), played a critical role in lobbying for change and working with the media to raise awareness. In 2002 the Government of Bangladesh passed the Acid Control Act and the Acid Crime Prevention Act restricting import and sale of acid. ASF B has treated thousands of patients in its 20 bed burns hospital.<br>Over 2000 survivors have been helped to rebuild their lives. Former ASTI trustee Dr Ron Hiles OBE, has personally performed over one thousand reconstructive surgery operations and trained hundreds of surgeons who in turn have treated thousands of patients.<br>Governments in Pakistan and Cambodia have been persuaded to introduce specific legislation on acid violence from which successful prosecutions have followed. Our local partners in Pakistan and Cambodia played a key role in advocating for legal change. Pakistan has recorded a significant increase in prosecutions – from 6% to 18% of recorded attacks.<br><br><strong>Jaf how do you see the association with AKDC?</strong><br> <br>Jaf Shah: Working alongside AKDC to bring the issue of acid violence to new audiences through performing art is a new and exciting way of raising awareness for ASTI therefore we are very happy to have this opportunity to work with AKDC.<br> <div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/98dabfbc31462a99c1676a3bcf4faae48e387b67/original/akdcjafshah.jpg?1416927111" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">Jaf Shah and Amina Khayya in a group discussion</p></div><br><br><strong>What can be achieved through such a project?</strong><br>Jaf Shah: Awareness raising is a key element of our work and the production will help greatly to educate and engage audiences through artistic expression.<br>Amina Khayyam: One of the interesting aspects of working with ASTI was learning the journeys of survivors, and what happened to these women. I wanted to portray such a journey of the aftermath of such a horrific act and how closure of the attack is approached. Some women never survive, yet some do; they find the conviction and the strength to re-emerge. <br><br><strong>Amina, how have you approached this in dance?</strong><br>I use Kathak's technique of Abhinaya to explore the pain and suffering of victims, but I negate from the traditional approach by adapting each muscle in the body to express the emotion, face is still there to express from the body's perspective.<br>We, the company, also use mime, from a European structure, to add a different dimension of performance - exploring the male perpetrators psychology. Together we tell a story using various characters, techniques and situations.<br><br><strong>Jaf, what do you think the survivors will make of such a project?</strong><br>Jaf Shah: I think survivors will be appreciative of a project that seeks to highlight this horrific form of violence.<br><br><strong>What more can be done by campaigners and artists such as yourselves?</strong><br>Jaf Shah: A lot more work has to be done to educate people on why it happens and what can be done to prevent it. Acid violence is a particularly vicious form of premeditated violence, where acid is thrown usually at the face to disfigure, maim and blind, but not to kill. The targets are mostly women and girls. Attacks often occur as a result of domestic or land disputes, a violent act of revenge towards a girl or woman rejected a marriage proposal or spurned sexual advances. During an attack children are often in close proximity to their mother and as a result suffer burns. Sadly children are also deliberate targets of attack. <br>A key role for ASTI is to raise awareness of acid violence to an international audience so that increased pressure can be applied to governments to introduce stricter controls on the sale and purchase of acid. By raising awareness we also aim to help bring about a change in attitudes so that there is a zero tolerance of acid violence.<br>Amina Khayyam: A key element I explore in the piece is the conditioning both by women and men of how we have commodified the female gender through use of glamorous objectification - which to me amplifies the inequality and disrespect.<br> <br>Why do we, men and women, have such views, expectations from each other when nature tells us we need one another to keep harmony in life. Both have equal parts to play though very different ones! I feel that despite the impact of democracy and freedom enjoyed by women, particularly in western cultures, women continue to be subjugated by this conditioning. Part of me feels there is a long way to go before women can totally be free.<br><br><strong>A Thousand Faces premieres at mac birmingham this Thursday 8pm.Tickets available </strong><a href="http://www.macbirmingham.co.uk"><strong>www.macbirmingham.co.uk</strong></a><strong> or call 0121 446 3232</strong>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/32773452014-11-11T22:54:45+00:002017-01-15T23:52:21+00:00Why I work with AKDC...<br>Debasish Mukherjee is A grade artist for All India radio and recognised to be one of the top tabla artists in the world having played with Pandit Rajan & Sajan Mishra and Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj. He is a prominent member of AKDC, contributing musically to most of the company’s productions - ONE, LAAL SHAARI, YERMA and now A THOUSAND FACES.<br> <br>Here he tells us why he enjoys playing with the Company...<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/244e8028ca3b877c6fb4eee8178fc475da35fbdc/medium/debasishprog.jpg?1408401386" class="size_m justify_center border_" /><br><em><strong>Why do you work with Amina Khayyam?</strong></em><br><br>We understand each other very well, we know each other very well and I like to bring her stories to life. I like to accompany kathak, to bring together vocals, kathak and contemporary choreography, the cello (a cello features in AKDC’s Yerma). I like to do this kind of work, and Amina’s ideas always offer something challenging and interesting to work on.<br> <br><em><strong>When did the relationship start?</strong></em><br> <br>We started working together 10 years ago but I think it was in1999 that we met for the first time on the filming of an ISTD module in London, I played tabla and she was one of the dancers on the project.<br> <br><em><strong>How does playing for kathak differ from playing as accompaniment for a</strong> <strong>musician?</strong></em><br> <br>To play for Kathak dancers is very challenging and a tabla player needs to be very alert. It offers a chance to use all your skills, you can improvise and there is a lot of scope for this. When you play as an accompaniment for a musician there is not as much scope as when you play for kathak.<br> <br><em><strong>Why don’t many tabla artists play for kathak -- and why is it</strong> <strong>something that is looked down upon?</strong></em><br> <br>My father Guru Pandit Kanai Mukherjee used to explain that to become a complete tabla player you have to play accompaniment with vocal, instrumental music, solo as well as dance. If you can play these four things you are a complete tabla player. To play for kathak is very difficult but it is not negative. When you are good you can play with everyone!<br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/339506763d6aa1783d38ad7b74a5014fb823d73d/original/dm-amina.jpeg?1415746421" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><em><strong>Amina has often said that the tabla is a character on its own in her</strong> <strong>storytelling, it is just like another dancer on stage – do you see it</strong> <strong>that way?</strong></em><br> <br>Yes of course, because tabla has that kind of feeling, that you can be a character in the story, she is right! I’m very impressed with how Amina is making work, which includes live musicians, that is wonderful and is very good for everyone involved in her projects. I want to work with this company, contribute my ideas and of course continue working with Amina.<br> Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/32726802014-11-08T09:36:05+00:002017-01-15T23:52:21+00:00WHY I AM DOING YERMA.<br>As our production of Yerma hits the road again, Amina Khayyam revisits her reasons for adapting Lorca’s tragedy for a Kathak dance piece <br><br><em>What inspired you to make YERMA? </em><br><br><strong>Amina Khayyam: <em> </em></strong>It’s a subject that interests me very much; as a child, growing up in Bangladesh I heard stories about women who couldn’t have children and it was always considered to be their fault. Then I realised it’s not just the woman, it’s a much bigger problem altogether. But in Bangladesh men were (and still are) encouraged to get married again and the first wife’s situation becomes very difficult – she isn’t exactly divorced from her husband and she continues to live in the marital home – with her husband and his second wife – and she’s reduced to the role of housekeeper or servant. The new wife will rule if she produces children. It’s a terrible situation for many women in the Indian sub-continent as well in the isolated communities of UK – and that was my first experience of hearing about women who were unable to have children.<br><br>I knew some of Lorca’s work – ‘Blood Wedding’ and ‘the House of Bernarda Alba’ so it was just a matter of reading ‘Yerma’ and realising how much the story resonated with me. What I like about Yerma is that although she’s a victim, she is an amazingly strong character – and I wanted to show a strong decisive character even though the story ends so tragically.<br> <div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/116e218437fa773b2baf7c5847b1f3bca0863de8/original/akyermarehearsallo3.jpg?1415439022" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption"> </p></div><br><em>How are the themes of YERMA relevant to today’s society?</em><br><br><strong>Amina Khayyam: </strong>These issues are not just relevant to cultures in South Asia, they exist in parts of the European community as well. I do a lot of outreach work with communities with women and there is always someone who will be nervous to admit that this is her story, there are many women here who are unable to have children and who have subsequent problems with their husband and families.<br><br> <div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/fa4cec3b54a0e691b4c63cee97dac38bc9be6260/original/169.JPG?1370437286" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption">AKDC Yerma workshop in a Women's group</p></div><br><em>Is your production faithful to the play’s script or have you made any changes?</em><br><br><strong>Amina Khayyam: </strong>I adapted the script from Lorca’s original dialogue; I’ve aimed to develop the characters through the eye of the kathak dance vocabulary because our dance is a storytelling form and it helps us engage with the story. When I was developing the characters I thought of animals and birds and which ones they reminded me of: for instance, the two sisters of Yerma’s husband gossip about Yerma, watch her every move and think they’re helping her ‘behave’ herself – I thought of vultures with their watchful eye and used that image to develop the choreographic personality of the characters. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/72c422da310ce10639d02c59a0be1f4f18b53457/original/akyermareharsallo2.jpg?1415439076" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br> <br><em>Tell us about the production design?</em><br><br><strong>Amina Khayyam: </strong>I wanted the story to be universal and to move away from the classic kathak style of costume while keeping the flavour and the movements that complement the form; Keith Khan designed the costumes. As for the makeup – Yerma really inspired me; I felt like she was a living/dead character so I wanted to represent that with the white makeup and to get away from the obvious prettiness of South Asian classical dance which is always seen as beautiful. I wanted to focus on Yerma’s story and the narrative so in working with makeup artist Tilat Khayer, we got rid of the jewellery and usual makeup of SA classical dance and concentrated on a very simple, stark approach.<br> <br><em>And how does it work with the music – does the choreography come first or is it the music?</em><br><br><strong>Amina Khayyam: </strong> Sometimes the music comes first but with Yerma I was inspired by the characters and the story which in turn inspired my ideas for the choreography. I figured out what rhythm each character had, his or her identity and signature; I thought about the kathak vocabulary and distributed it to the husband, the wife and the other characters. That’s how I developed the rhythm and when the composer, Tarun Jasani, came to see rehearsals, I gave him the rhythms which he then used to write the music.<br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/d9ccda4ffb04cf739b476a56b2faca8d46b945c8/original/akyermarehearsal1lo.jpg?1415439038" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/32432572014-10-23T09:00:00+01:002014-10-23T14:06:57+01:00NEW SCENES IN YERMA <br>New scenes are being added to AKDC’s adaptation of Yerma for its <a contents="autumn tour" data-link-label="Touring" data-link-type="page" href="/touring" target="_blank">autumn tour</a>. Explaining the changes, Amina says “We had such a positive audience feedback for Yerma last year, that it prompted me to explore her further. I am interested in the pressures mounting on her from her immediate family - especially her sister-in laws, as well as dwell more on the conflicting dynamics with her husband”<br> <br>Further changes are also being made to focus on a singular cello texture. <br><br> Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/32432052014-10-22T08:00:00+01:002017-01-15T23:52:21+00:00AKDC completes making of A THOUSAND FACES to start rehearsals for YERMA Autumn Tour<br>After completing the reworking of<a contents=" A THOUSAND FACES" data-link-label="A Thousand Faces" data-link-type="page" href="/a-thousand-faces"> A THOUSAND FACES</a> for its premiere at <a contents="mac Birmingham on 27th Nov" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/amina-khayyam-dance-a-thousand-faces/">mac Birmingham on 27th Nov</a> last week, the company has had to turn around fast to prepare for Yerma which sees launch of its Autumn tour in <a contents="Newcastle hosted by Gem Arts," data-link-label="Touring" data-link-type="page" href="/touring">Newcastle hosted by Gem Arts,</a> before taking Yerma to its origins in Andalusia -<a contents=" Malaga 31st October" data-link-label="Touring" data-link-type="page" href="/touring"> Malaga 31<sup>st</sup> October</a>. Woking and Brighton are next destinations before a long trek to the <a contents="NCPA Festival on Dec 5th." data-link-label="Touring" data-link-type="page" href="/touring">NCPA Festival on Dec 5<sup>th</sup></a> in Mumbai.<br> <br>In A Thousand Faces, Amina has been working closely with <em>L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq</em> trained Harmage S. Kalirai on finding common approaches to European mime and Kathak’s A<em>bhinaya</em>. The production will also boast the haunting vocals of Lucy Rahman and those of Amrit Kaur Lohia, alongside her <em>Sarangi.</em><br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/0d9f73741765f73ebdaefeb48ee90f166f6e20e8/large/photo-3.jpg?1413919844" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><div class="captioned justify_center"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/8309a438492319bc101e322e2e3e0324ace5bb90/large/photo-1.jpg?1413919820" class="size_orig justify_center border_" /><p class="caption"><em>Amina Khayyam with Harmage S. Kalirai in rehearsals for A Thousand Faces watched by Lucy Rahman & Amrit K. Lohia</em></p></div>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/32212772014-10-07T17:36:34+01:002014-10-07T17:36:34+01:00AKDC launches Children’s Storytelling! <br>In keeping to our core approach to Kathak as a storytelling dance form, we launch this week a new children’s show - with an original story - “People who Live in the Skies”, to be showcased this Saturday at the <a contents="StoryLand Festival of Storytelling." data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.storylandhounslow.org" target="_blank">StoryLand Festival of Storytelling.</a><br> <br>People in the Skies - a poignant story for young audiences concerning the environment has been developed using Kathak’s vocabulary and will be performed by Olwen Sisupalan, Rosalind Francis and Jana Randler.<br> <br>Appearing along AKDC will be world-renowned storyteller <a contents="Seema Anand" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/The-Art-of-Seduction-Seema-Anan;TEDxEaling" target="_blank">Seema Anand</a>, with whom Amina Khayyam has collaborated before.<br> <br>We are also planning to develop our children’s activities by starting Kathak classes for 7-11 years old. More details will follow as well as a dedicated Kids zone on this site.. Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/32150342014-10-03T00:20:04+01:002017-01-15T23:52:21+00:00Outreach underway<br>Rehearsals are underway for <a contents="A Thousand Faces, a full-length new work premiering on 27 November at mac Birmingham" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/amina-khayyam-dance-a-thousand-faces/" target="_blank">A Thousand Faces, a full-length new work premiering on 27 November at mac Birmingham</a>. Amina has been working with Harmage S. Kalirai on contexts of mime and Abhinaya, of which we will be covering more next week.<br> <br>In the meanwhile, and equally importantly, our Outreach work has also begun for this autumn season- in Brighton, Woking and Birmingham, later of where Amina hosted a workshop for women from a Sheltered Home, all victims of domestic violence. The women don't leave the shelter often except to occasionally shop for food. Their tight budgets mean they have learnt to pool their money, buying and preparing food together to make it go further. Mealtimes are when the shelter comes together and feels like a home. However with rules and restrictions designed to ensure the safety of residents it can feel like a cage with one resident commenting that though she was now free from violence the strict rules of the shelter still made it feel as if freedom had been taken from her.<br> <br>Our workshop was a chance for some respite from rules and regulations and gave women the chance to enjoy themselves, learn new skills and make friends. Despite their personal experiences the group enjoyed discussing the theme of violence against women, finding it very therapeutic.<br> <br>Amina also ran a workshop in Brighton with the Banyan Tree, a community group set up to promote Black and Minority Ethnic experiences to children and families through a range of arts based activities.<br> <br>More workshops are planned over the coming weeks in the above locations where we’ll look forward to engage dance and movement skills to interface with themes from our productions.<br> <img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/93450/06729d18c3ef946639cca41adfbd660f2a99a53c/original/yerma-bton4.jpg?1412291955" class="size_l justify_center border_" />Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/32013032014-09-24T12:38:06+01:002014-10-21T20:46:03+01:00The company begins work on A Thousand Faces this week<br><span style="line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">T</span>his week the company begins reworking our production, <a contents="A Thousand Faces" data-link-label="A Thousand Faces" data-link-type="page" href="http://www.aminakhayyamdance.co.uk/a-thousand-faces">A Thousand Faces</a>, to be premiered at <a contents="mac birmingham" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/amina-khayyam-dance-a-thousand-faces/">mac birmingham</a> on the 27th November. A Thousand Faces tells the stories of women who are victims of acid violence and was created, in part, to raise awareness of the issue.
<p>A Thousand Faces will become a full length production in collaboration with other artists; an actor and costume designer and will include digital media and live musicians. We are developing the piece to create a stronger narrative which engages the audience and confronts them, asking them to consider the theme of domestic violence. </p>
<p>Amina, renowned for her abhinaya will develop new approaches in this work by bringing the influence of European experimental forms of theatre mime movement to give the piece a wholly unique and innovative treatment, highlighting the contemporary condition.</p>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/31708382014-09-04T10:59:41+01:002014-09-04T13:39:59+01:00Autumn Tour Confirms<br>AKDC is pleased to announce autumn and some early 2015 touring dates. The company continues to tour Yerma in the regions as well take it to international audiences for the first time, to Yerma’s origins, in fact, Lorca country - Andalusia. Mumbai is also a destination in December at the NCPA Centre stage Festival. <br><br>In UK, we visit Newcastle with Gem Arts, Brighton Dome and Woking where we will work with Dance Woking. In spring we bring Yerma back to London and look forward to confirming further dates for 2015/16.<br> <br>Our outreach work continues to strengthen with extensive activity in Brighton, Woking (with Liaise), and back again in Birmingham.<br> <br><a contents="Media Release&nbsp;&nbsp;" data-link-label="yerma14mediareleaselist.docx" data-link-type="file" href="/files/154043/yerma14mediareleaselist.docx" target="_blank">Media Release </a>Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/31439192014-08-19T10:01:03+01:002014-08-28T10:31:12+01:00Jane Chan joins Yerma<br>We are pleased to bring on board <a contents="Jane Chan" data-link-label="Jane Chan" data-link-type="page" href="/jane-chan">Jane Chan</a> to replace <a href="http://www.aminakhayyamdance.co.uk/jane-chan" rel="nofollow" shape="rect" style="text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 1.2em; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; " target="_blank">I</a><a contents="Iris Chan" data-link-label="Iris Chan" data-link-type="page" href="/iris-chan">ris Chan</a> in Yerma for the 2014/15 tour. Iris is taking a year out to complete her postgraduate studies at London Contemporary Dance School.<br><br>Jane trained in kathak from Amina at University of Surrey, and has been working with the company on other projects including the forthcoming full production of <a contents="A Thousand Faces&nbsp;" data-link-label="A Thousand Faces" data-link-type="page" href="/a-thousand-faces">A Thousand Faces </a> to be premiered at <a contents="mac Birmingham" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://macbirmingham.co.uk/event/amina-khayyam-dance-a-thousand-faces/" target="_blank">mac Birmingham</a> . She is also one of the main dancers for Amad.<br> Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/31070602014-07-30T13:21:50+01:002014-07-30T15:18:15+01:00AKDC returns to Hat Factory<br>AKDC adds a new touring date to its production A THOUSAND FACES - Feb 26th at The Hat Factory. The return to this venue marks the success of the outreach work of Yerma in Luton, when the company was there last time, The Hat Factory is seen as a pivotal venue for AKDC to reach engagement with the targeted audience for its work. <br><br>Venue details will be announced shortly.Amina Khayyam Dance Companytag:aminakhayyamdance.co.uk,2005:Post/31070552014-07-30T12:59:33+01:002014-07-30T15:21:09+01:00Summer Intensive Kathak Course @ The Place<br><a contents="Amina Khayyam will be teaching a week long summer intensive course at The Place this August. This course will provide an introduction to the fundamentals of Kathak dance including elements of storytelling and music. Focusing on both the technical and the expressional narrative aspect of Kathak, sessions will provide an introduction to simple rhythm cycles, basic footwork patterns and an introduction into the history and background of the dance form. Sessions will help improve posture, develop co-ordination and enhance graceful movement. - See more at: http://www.theplace.org.uk/summer-intensives-2014-week-3-18-22-august-2014#sthash.MybUYY9G.dpuf" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.theplace.org.uk/summer-intensives-2014-week-3-18-22-august-2014#sthash.MybUYY9G.dpuf" target="_blank">Amina Khayyam will be teaching a week long summer intensive course at The Place this August. This course will provide an introduction to the fundamentals of Kathak dance including elements of storytelling and music. Focusing on both the technical and the expressional narrative aspect of Kathak, sessions will provide an introduction to simple rhythm cycles, basic footwork patterns and an introduction into the history and background of the dance form. Sessions will help improve posture, develop co-ordination and enhance graceful movement. - See more at:</a><a contents=" http://www.theplace.org.uk/summer-intensives-2014-week-3-18-22-august-2014#sthash.MybUYY9G.dpuf" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.theplace.org.uk/summer-intensives-2014-week-3-18-22-august-2014#sthash.MybUYY9G.dpuf" target="_blank"> http://www.theplace.org.uk/summer-intensives-2014-week-3-18-22-august-2014#sthash.MybUYY9G.dpuf</a>Amina Khayyam Dance Company