Tanz! Heilbronn: Chotto Desh von Akram Khan (UK)

Akram Khan is one of the UK's most celebrated and influential choreographers, admired for his unique style of intimate yet epic storytelling. 'Chotto Desh' (2023) is a reworking of his Olivier Award-winning autobiographical solo show 'DESH' from 2011. The title 'Chotto Desh' means 'small homeland' in Bengali. At the heart of this multimedia and multi-layered work is the story of a boy who dreams of becoming a dancer. He travels from Great Britain to Bangladesh, his parents' homeland, and tries to find his place in the world. To make his way, he rebels against his father's wishes and rebels against the old gods.
With dreamlike animations of elephants, crocodiles and swirling clouds of butterflies and hypnotic music composed by Jocelyn Pook, "Chotto Desh" explores ideas of home and identity, relationships with our parents and our need to find an individual path in life. The athletic choreography combines classical Indian Kathak, ballet and contemporary dance movements.

Acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, this is the first family show Akram Khan has created. Combining contemporary dance with an exquisite blend of spoken text, dreamlike animation, visuals and atmospheric music, it is an enchanting and poignant dance theater experience for children aged 8+ and adults to enjoy together.

Akram Khan is one of the most celebrated dance artists working today, having built his reputation on the success of imaginative, accessible and deeply moving productions such as 'Jungle Book reimagined', 'Outwitting the Devil', 'Until the Lions', 'Kaash', 'iTMOi (in the mind of igor)', 'DESH', 'Vertical Road' and 'zero degrees'. An instinctive and natural collaborator, Khan has attracted world-class artists from diverse cultures and disciplines, including the Chinese National Ballet, actress Juliette Binoche, ballerina Sylvie Guillem, choreographers/dancers Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Israel Galván, singer Kylie Minogue, visual artists Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley and Tim Yip, and composers Steve Reich, Nitin Sawhney, Jocelyn Pook and Ben Frost. A highlight of his career was designing part of the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, which was unanimously praised.