INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY MESSAGE APRIL 29, 2009
Akram Khan

This very special day is dedicated to the one language
that everybody in
this world can speak, the inherent language of our bodies
and our souls, of
our ancestors and of our children.

This day is dedicated to every god, guru and grandparent
that ever taught and
inspired us,
To every song and impulse and moment that's ever moved us
to move.

It is dedicated to the little child that wishes it could
move like its star,
And to the mother who says, 'you already can'.
This day is dedicated to every body of every creed, colour
and culture that
carries the traditions of its past into stories of the
present and dreams of
the future.

This day is dedicated to Dance, to its myriad dialects and
its immense power
to express, transform, unite and delight.

INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY MESSAGE APRIL 29, 2009
Akram Khan Bio

Akram Khan is the most acclaimed choreographer of his generation working in Britain today. Born in London into a family of Bangladeshi origin in 1974, he began dancing at the age of seven. He studied with the great Kathak dancer and teacher Sri Pratap Pawar. He began his stage career at the age of 14, when he was cast in Peter Brook?s legendary production of Mahabharata. Following later studies in contemporary dance and a period working with Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker?s Brussels based X-Group project, he began presenting solo performances of his work in the 1990s, maintaining his commitment to the classical kathak
repertoire as well as modern work. Among his best-known solo pieces are: Polaroid Feet (2001), Ronin (2003) and Third Catalogue (2005). In August 2000, he launched his own company.

As Choreographer-in-Residence and later Associate Artist at the South Bank Centre, he presented a recital with Pandit Birju Maharaj and Sri Pratap Pawar; and A God of Small Tales, a piece for mature women for which he again collaborated with writer, Hanif Kureishi. He remained an Associate Artist at the South Bank Centre until April 2005, the first non-musician to be afforded this status. His latest work In-I is a collaboration with Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche, visual design by Anish Kapoor and music composition by Philip Sheppard.

It premiered in September 2008 at the National Theatre, and is due to embark on an international tour. Other recent projects include Sacred Monsters, featuring ballerina Sylvie Guillem, with additional choreography by Lin Hwai Min, artistic director of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre in Taipei, which premiered at Sadler?sWells in September 2006, and Variations, a collaboration with London Sinfonietta to celebrate the 70th birthday of Steve Reich, which premiered in Cologne in March 2006. Another recent major production is zero degrees (2005) a collaboration with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Antony Gormley and Nitin Sawhney, which won the prestigious Helpmann Award in Australia for Best Choreography in a DanceWork in 2007. Akram Khan is currently an Associate Artist at Sadler?sWells and has been the recipient of numerous awards including an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from De Montfort University for his contribution to the UK arts community in 2004, and was awarded an MBE for his services to Dance in 2005.

INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY MESSAGE APRIL 29, 2009
Background

In 1982 the International Dance Committee of the
International Theatre Institute (ITI/UNESCO) founded International
Dance Day to be celebrated every year on the 29th of April.
The date commemorates the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre,
who was born in 1727 and was a great reformer of dance.

Every year a message from a well-known dance personality is
circulated throughout the world.

The intention of International Dance Day and the Message is
to bring all dance together on this day, to celebrate this art form
and revel in its universality, to cross all political, cultural and ethnic
barriers and bring people together in peace and friendship with a
common language - Dance.

In 1995, in an effort to unite dance, the International
Dance Committee entered into a collaborative effort for the
celebration of International Dance Day withWorld Dance Alliance
as their only official partner.