Contrasting worlds of two dance masters united
Their class shone through when they performed in Greece last summer at the Herod Atticus in Athens. Now Sylvie Guillem and Akram Khan are returning to the country for their first ever performances in Thessaloniki at the northern city’s Concert Hall (25th Martiou & Paralia) this Wednesday and Thursday. Their project, «Sacred Monsters,» bridges dance styles from East and West. «I’m a classical dancer and have been trained for this, but I can’t say that what I support – my religion – is one style, one technique, one tradition,» says Guillem, the acclaimed French ballet dancer who has performed with the Paris Opera Ballet and is currently a guest principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London. «What I can say is that the place I dance in, guided by any technique, is a sacred place for me. The stage is a monster. My sacred monster,» continued Guillem, who set herself free for her collaboration with Khan after the 33-year-old British choreographer of Bangladeshi descent came up with a novel and impressive proposal. In the words of Khan, a master of Kathak, the classical dance style of northern India, the duo, through this project, get to display their «common but also personal experiences from the field of classical dance. ‘Sacred Monsters’ is a meditative work on the journey from classical world to contemporary world… the body has the ability to absorb the transition from one world to the other… that’s when it finds ways to combine the contrasts.» For ticket information and bookings, call 2310.895.938 or 2310.895.939.
