In Thikra: Night of Remembering, fourteen dancers create a profound dialogue between western dance and the Indian tradition of Bharatanatyam. Akram Khan’s new work, choreographed to be performed in situ near the historical town of AlUla in Saudi Arabia, is also imbued with impressions from the desert and ancient cultural sites of the Medina province, linked to India from ancient times by a large trade route. To change the conversation, Akram Khan and Saudi contemporary artist Manal AlDowayan explored a multitude of women’s cultural practices, both everyday and sacred. Thikra is a tribute to our ancestors that is anchored in the present, as can be seen in its enchanting costumes created under the supervision of visual artist AlDowayan.

Thomas Hahn