Akram Khan Dance Company, Israel Galvan

Akram Khan is one of the most celebrated and respected dance artists today. In just over a decade he has created an imaginative, highly accessible and relevant body of work including productions such as DESH, Vertical Road, Gnosis and zero degrees. The multi-award-winning Israel Galván has been at the forefront of contemporary flamenco for 20 years. Galván is known for his innovative choreography and exquisite dancing technique.

With this new artistic exchange, Khan and Galván have created Torobaka, bringing together kathak and flamenco to create something altogether distinct, defying classification or genre.

Performed for the first time in the UK, Torobaka takes its name from a Maori-inspired phonetic poem by Tristan Tzara. The bull (toro) and the cow (vaca) are sacred animals in the dancers’ two traditions and represent the coming together of dance styles. Rather than mimicking one another, the two dancers seek to create something new by better understanding each other’s approaches to their craft.