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Akram Khan

Choreographer and dancer Akram Khan is interviewed by Kirsty Young.

Kirsty Young's castaway is the dancer and choreographer Akram Khan.

A child of Bengali immigrants, he started learning Indian dance almost as soon as he could walk. Talent-spotted in his teens, he went on to spend two years touring the world with Peter Brook's Mahabharata. A keen collaborator, he's worked with everyone from prima ballerina Sylvie Guillem to disco queen Kylie Minogue.

He says he was a shy boy and dance allowed him to communicate properly for the first time: "It was like being allowed to speak - and people taking notice of that and that's another problem because then you want people's attention all the time, so, every dinner party we went to, I said, Mum, are they going to ask me to dance? It became an addiction."

Producer: Leanne Buckle.

Available now

45 minutes

Last on

Fri 27 Jul 2012 09:00
Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4

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Music Played

  • Michael Jackson

    Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough

    Composer: Michael Jackson

    • Michael Jackson Off The Wall.
    • EPIC.

  • Caetano Veloso

    Cucurrucucu Paloma

    Composer: Tomás Méndez

    • Hable Con Ella.
    • MILAN.

  • Zoe & Idris Rahman

    Anondo Dhara ("Stream Of Joy")

    Composer: Rabindranath Tagore

    • Where Rivers Meet / Zoe & Idris Rahman.
    • MANUSHI.
    • MANUCD004.
    • 9.

  • A Filetta

    U lamentu di ghjesu

    • Le mystère des voix corses (Les plus belles polyphonies).
    • Olivi Music.

  • Prince

    Sign O’ The Times

    Composer: Prince

    • Prince / Sign O’ The Times.
    • PAISLEY PARK.

  • Castaway's Favourite

    • Arvo Pärt

      Spiegel im Spiegel

      Artist: Vadim Gluzman and Angela Yoffe

      • Spiegel Im Spiegel / Arvo Part.
      • BIS.

  • Leftfield

    Phat Planet

    Composer: Neil Barnes, Paul Daley

    • Leftfield: Afika Shox.
    • HIGHER GROUND.

  • Gavin Bryars

    Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet

    Artist: Hampton string quartet

    • Gavin Bryars / Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet.
    • POINT.

  • Book Choice

    • The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy

  • Luxury Choice

    • A skipping rope

Credits

Presenter Kirsty Young
Interviewed Guest Akram Khan

Broadcasts

  • Sun 22 Jul 2012 10:00
    Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4 LW
  • Sun 22 Jul 2012 11:15
    Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4 FM
  • Fri 27 Jul 2012 09:00
    Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio 4

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