What they are saying about our productions…

 4**** / The Scotsman (Kelly Apter)
“Khayyam has a strong command of Kathak…. takes us deep into Yerma’s soul” http://www.wow247.co.uk/2015/08/20/dance-review-yerma/ 
 
4**** / The Herald (Keith Bruce)
“highest production values are in evidence throughout”
http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/13617476.Fringe_Dance_review__Yerma__New_Town_Theatre/ 
 
4**** / The List (Donald Hutera)
“Powerful, poignant kathak dance…sharply stylized.. dramatically alert, thematically rich and ultimately moving “
https://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/article/73288-yerma/
 
 
4**** / FestMag (Lucy Ribchester)
“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” https://www.festmag.co.uk/features/102961-yerma 
 
4**** / Broadway Baby
“The choreography is exquisite…  breathtaking”
http://www.broadwaybaby.com/shows/yerma/707487 
 
4**** / Edfest Mag
“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” http://www.edfestmag.com/yerma/
 
TOTAL THEATRE (Dorothy Max Prior )
 “an intense and accomplished demonstration of the power of movement-based theatre to tell stories” http://totaltheatre.org.uk/amina-khayyam-dance-co-yerma/
 
"One of the top ten productions of 2014 in Mumbai' - Hindustan Times

 "a moving... and haunting piece with high-intensity performances and beautiful live musical accompaniment" - Brighton Argus

“skill.. technique.. beauty , of which it has plenty” - Sanjoy Roy, Pulse

Yerma is a bold and adventurous piece of dance that is successful in interpreting the narrative and portraying the emotional turmoil at the heart of Lorca's play. The music is central to this and is brilliantly conceived and performed. Amina Khayyam gives a visceral, committed central performance and takes the audience with her on Yerma's journey.”   Louisa Davies Programmmer/mac birmingham
 
“Amina Khayyam Dance’s interpretation of Fredrico Garcia Lorca’s play Yerma offers a haunting account of a woman in an arranged marriage who attracts suspicion from her husband and the community due to her inability to have children.  Although written in 1934, women find themselves in similar situations today among some sub-cultural communities in Britain, prompting Khayyam to create a contemporary version of the tragedy.   Drawing on the dramatic potential of kathak, specific characters are fleshed out whose response to Yerma changes over time as friends and relatives eventually shun her.  Visually evocative, Khayyam as Yerma and three other female dancers in long dark dresses appear with striking white makeup, challenging the conventions of the classical abhinaya, or use of the face to convey emotion.  Complex rhythmic footwork plays on the amazing ensemble of musicians who draw from classical Indian and western traditions and instrumentation with a tabla, two cellos and Indian vocalist Lucy Rahman.   Drama is conveyed through the body, as intricate call and response kathak phrases build up relationships of unity and opposition.  Meticulously rehearsed, the group of three dancers often function as a unit with a strong walking motif that poses numerable challenges to Yerma, breaking her spirit then serving as a source of defiance embodied by Khayyam.  Technically strong, the dancers are able to play with the classical form and infuse it with a contemporary resonance through the interplay of traditional vocabulary, stylised motifs and naturalistic action.   The dance is rich in emotional intensity, finely tuned and expressive movement detail, with an original score by Taran Jasani that combined to create evocative imagery that stays with the viewer long after the show.”
Dr Stacey Prickett, Principal Lecturer, University of Roehampton
 

A co-production with Icon Theatre and ZooNation Kate Prince Company

**** Telegraph | Mark Monahan | Especially powerful is the clever, cruel contrast between one exquisite passage of north-Indian Kathak, and – in the context of Bengal, 1943 – that same quartet soon writhing on the floor in torturous, primal agony” Read full review here

The Times | Donald Hutera |   All credit to Khayyam and company for the work’s best-shaped and sustained segment, a vigorous, piercingly sharp enactment of Britain’s rise to power in India featuring four splendid female dancers and a trio of superb musicians - sitar, percussion (tabla) and vocal).  Read full review here

X | Donald Hutera |- Quote @AminaKhayyam “We have something called ‘Rasa’ in Indian classical music & dance. It’s how the audience can connect & feel the same emotion the performer is trying to convey. When you become one with it, you will feel fulfilled.” The 'Clive of India' section esp. did that.

2023 LUSTRUM AWARD WINNER2023 LUSTRUM AWARD WINNER. | Edinburgh Fringe Festival – Summerhall

★★★★ David Pollock | The Scotsman

“Powerful & Captivating ….Khayyam has choreographed a piece built around a delicacy and femininity of movement, which occasionally bursts into suggestions of fear and violence”

★★★★ Jessica Leanne | Broadway Baby

“Very touching and a must see …..The style of dance is a beautiful mix of traditional Indian dance and lyrical or contemporary styles, all of which make us want to follow each movement with our heads like a serpent snake. It is hypnotic.”

“Fear punctuates the fluid dancing in this tale of domestic violence.” | The Guardian

★★★★ Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe

 

AUDIENCE REVIEWS | Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023

“Wonderful moving show about surviving suffering and solidarity. If that sounds grim the show is actually uplifting. The music and dance integrate beautifully. One of the best things I’ve seen this week.”

“Wowowow! Khayyam creates a visually and emotionally gripping show with layers of choreographic images. Three dancers swirl, strike and flutter to complex rhythms from three onstage musicians. The work adeptly combined Indian classical dance and contemporary dance elements, but a previous knowledge of dance isn't required to enjoy this visually entrancing piece. You won't want to miss this one!”

“Powerful piece by three dancers and three (initially invisible) live musicians about violence against women. Conveys the agony, the loss and grief of violence, with crescendos of dance and energy, starting in a dark, silent place and ending with the strength and support of women together. A performance that illustrates the complexity of violence, and that left me very moved.”