Global Rasikas Audience Reception for Akram Khan’S Desh Shanti Pillai

Global Rasikas Audience Reception for Akram Khan’s Desh Shanti Pillai

A dim light appears upstage right. A figure is barely discernable. Dancer/choreographer Akram Khan, a metal and glass lantern in hand, slowly but purposively makes his way towards a small, gray mound downstage. Is it a grave? A trapdoor leading to a magical world? The quiet mystery is shattered as Khan raises a sledgehammer above his head and brings it down with an amplified bang onto the mound. Soon the lights come up to a cacophony of engines, voices, and blaring horns. Vertical bars of light move across the floor suggesting the vehicles, people, and animals that crowd the imagined street that Khan dodges across, now

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26 September 2021 Global Rasikas 13 - as for — , and , and Journal Research Dance each blow means they are closer to sustenance, are closer to sustenance, each blow means they — , created by Akram Khan. Sadler’s Wells, 2011. Three- 2011. Wells, Khan. Sadler’s Akram by created , Desh

. The lightning displacements through space and the falling into and ricochet- The lightning displacements through kathak.

Khan intersperses his dancing with spoken dialogue in which he assumes multiple charac- Khan intersperses his dancing with spoken Khan’s ensuing voyage of self-discovery forms the central theme of his autobiographi - theme of his forms the central voyage of self-discovery Khan’s ensuing and has since been performed UK, Theatre in Leicester, Desh opened in 2011 at the Curve his electrified dancing that integrates different Khan animates his multimedia spectacle with was connected to my kindred feeling for the artist’s world. As my questionnaires would kindred feeling for the artist’s world. Desh was connected to my . As a creator and performer she has presented work at Teatro Trianón and and Trianón Teatro at work and performer. As she has presented a creator and Performance Women Performance Space as a cofounding member of Third and most recently, in Cuba Ludwig Fundación UCLA, USC. [email protected] and University, Lab, at Brown dimensional animations look like chalk suspended in mid-air in a scene in which Khanwhich in scene a in mid-air storyin a suspended niece chalk his like tells look animations dimensional Company) Khan Dance courtesy Akram of Haughton; Richard by (Photo forest. magical a of at Long Beach. University State ArtsCalifornia at of Theatre is Assistant Pillai Professor Shanti contributions to on women artists’ for her work Award Research a Fulbright 2017 she received In contemporary dance, digital media, and performance art. theatre, Her across performance in India , Studies of Dance the Field Across writing appears in Conversations Figure 1. (facing page) Akram Khan in Akram page) (facing 1. Figure ing away from the floor are reminiscent of aikido and wrestling. Suspended freezes disrupt flu- Suspended freezes of aikido and wrestling. ing away from the floor are reminiscent American funk African drawing on jerky contractions, idity between fast movements and quick, of Michael Jackson. dances of locking and popping and the moves the mode of act- , lasyanga His embodiment of these characters seems inspired by ekaharya ters. in which the performer embodies various characters ing found in Indian performance traditions , which means “homeland” in Bangla and has close counterparts in Bangla and has close in “homeland” which means Desh, cal solo performance and and both a dancer half-Euro-American, As a half-Indian and Asian languages. other South Light White (6–7 November 2013) at the I sat riveted to my seat at the US premiere a scholar, entered the theatre preoccupied I had Theatre. Lincoln Center Rose York’s Festival in New interpretations of Desh through information about audience members’ by my intent to gather my mind jolted into stillness. as Khan slammed down the sledgehammer, Yet a questionnaire. of that heaving and its accompa- the effort and shape into an act of beauty, Although translated I have witnessed this choreography was something I recognized. niment of strained exhalation of India for whom by the demolition and construction workers of survival performed and other places the workers in Bangladesh on my sense of the import From this moment bodies’ breaking point. but also closer to their of who also felt an affective affinity I was in the company of others alone. I was not later reveal, the same reasons. with the artist although not all for exactly and other cit- Dhaka, São Paulo, Lisbon, Seoul, York, New Hong Kong, Toronto, in London, multitudes, Interweaving dance with projections that conjure up jungles and protesting ies. that dramatizes the political histories and per Khan creates a nonlinear sequence of vignettes a second-generation Bangladeshi-British citizen. sonal memories that inform his identity as sources and Khan’s aesthetic draws from a range of cultural Like many of his previous works, A soundtrack of physical expressivity with spoken text. his storytelling activates the intersection orchestral contemporary and music from Hebrew chants, electronic sounds, of field recordings, the work. Arabic songs accompanies and compositions, which pair with his flexible torso and His rapid-fire footwork and spins, corporeal vocabularies. of his body’s spherical reach before returning to center, arms that trace fluid shapes at the edges and sustained energy of the classical Indian turns, are deeply rooted in the percussive rhythms, dance, crouching to depict a beggar, then tumbling with lightning-speed to avoid an oncoming car. He car. to avoid an oncoming with lightning-speed then tumbling to depict a beggar, crouching than it is a journey’s is less a destination to some other side that broken through seems to have starting point. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26September 2021

14 Shanti Pillai (Photo by Richard Haughton; of Akram courtesy Dance Khan Company) With falls into and ricochets away from agility and speed Khan the floor. Figure 2. Akram in Khan Haughton; of Akram courtesy Dance Khan Company) during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. (Photo by Richard tells the audience of his torture at the hands of Pakistani soldiers Wells,Khan’s 2011. The cook, whose face appears atop head, Figure 3. Akram in Khan Desh, created by Akram Sadler’s Khan. Wells, 2011. Desh, created by Akram Sadler’s Khan.

who strippedthesolesoffhis the handsofPakistanisoldiers recounts histaleofcaptivityat tured, however, whenthecook he isacook. The charm isrup- ingenious entityexplainsthat stretched forearm. This sweetly head face-downalonghisout- the smallfacebyslidinghisown on hisbaldscalp. Khananimates as afacepaintedsimplyinblack audience toacharacterresiding his headandintroducesthe tives. InoneinstanceKhanbows are undercutbychillingnarra- struggle andchildishinnocence the childseemstobe present. such naturalisticprecisionthat and followingafterherwith scampers about, bendingdown reacts toherassheinvisibly suspended inmid-air. Khan mation thatlookslikechalk est, shownwithprojectedani- tells herataleoffantasticfor niece, presentviavoiceover. He a conversationwithhisyoung sequent sceneheconjuresup to mergeintoone. Inasub- forth thatthetwoentitiesbegin real andvocaltackingback father. Soseamlessishiscorpo- and hisexasperated, traditional forms hisirreverentteenageself tracting continuouslyasheper elastic torsoswellingandcon- rooted downstagecenter, his with hisfather, Khanremains the depictionofanargument logue withoneanother. During embodies twocharactersindia- through space. At timesKhan bodied gesturesandmotion (abhinaya) isreplacedwithfull- sonages andtheiremotions muscles tosignifyvariousper coordination ofminutefacial works forlargetheatres, the sions. BecauseKhanmakes gestures, postures, andexpres- at oncethroughacodifiedsetof These momentsofteenage - - - Global Rasikas 15 - - confirming the image — , created by Akram Khan. Sadler’s Khan. Sadler’s Akram by created , Desh there are references in the piece to a — Figure 4. Akram Khan in Akram 4. Figure force gravitational the in caught is body Khan’s 2011. Wells, and duty filial of UK, the and homeland parents’ his of fields Richard by (Photo memoryof and independence, present. the and Company) Khan Dance courtesy Akram of Haughton; -

Constructed scenery is min- Constructed Throughout all these inter and Deputy then Director of Programs Makishi, At the performance talk-back with Stanford The hammering in Desh also works as a symbol of the effort it takes to break through to not Irrelevant to me at the time was that Khan procured the gesture in Bangladesh and imal, serving largely as a visual largely as a visual serving imal, themes. metaphor of the work’s scene Khan in one For example, industrial faces a large piece of kind equipment that is some As the An engine starts. of fan. struggles Khan speed increases, oncoming to advance against the never to Is his destination wind. moment At another be reached? speaking he faces the apparatus, voiceover in dialogue with the of a Bangladeshi child laborer land of outsourced in the far-off Apple tech-support about a bro- Who is this child ken phone. whose fragility contrasts with the privilege of Khan’s angst over an iPhone malfunction? actions the audience hears Khan speaking Bangla and English, feeling the push-and-pull of his body caught in the gravitational force fields of his parents’ of fil- homeland and the UK, It seems Khan’s journey never ends. and of memory and the present. ial duty and independence, life lived in perpetual motion between unfixed points. But there are redemptive possibilities in a of golden ribbons descends to fill the stage, the end of the piece a cathartic monsoon Towards upside Khan is suspended of blue-green light. transformed as they fall into place by a wash submerged in the voluptuous cascade as if cleansed or baptized. down, Khan addressed listening as a child to aunties sing- Asian Cultural Council, Director of the and how he gives meaning to scenic design, his belief that performance ing Bengali folk songs, Then he explained how he found the hammer experimented with the order of Desh’s sections. ing by watching boys pound metal in a Bangladeshi demolition yard a specific kinesthetic obser and I shared something, I knew Khan the action conjured for me. through the vation of one of so many details that enters one’s charged sensorial field moving Asia. densely populated and differentiated landscape of South Later in the piece Khan pulls out from the mound a find something one values and repudiates. Perhaps it is his father’s a traditional man’s shirt. kurta, and familial ties haunt Desh. faraway father, historical-cultural although fraught, India and Bangladesh share deep, South India. “my” in partition that established Pakistan as a separated Bangladesh had its origins in the 1947 ties. feet with a knife. The scene ends The scene knife. feet with a his trying to stand, with the cook as he crumbles back arms flailing to the ground. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26September 2021

16 Shanti Pillai mobility, culturalhybridity, andalifelivedbetween “here” anda “there.” responses pointedtowasaperformancerootedinspectators’ownexperiencesoftransnational possibility forencounteringthespectacleofdiversity(Hannerz1996). What thequestionnaire materials, notjustinthetheatrebutalsodailylife. A walkdownthestreetrendersinfinite that ina “global city” likeNew York manyspectatorsaretrainedininterpretingintercultural fying closelywiththeemotions, issues, andexperiencesherendered. This wentbeyondthefact those spectatorswhodidnotshare Akram’s culturalpointsofreferencebutwhovoicedidenti- Akram iscomingfrombecauseIndiansdealwithsimilarissues.” Yet moresurprisingtomewere As onesecond-generationdaughterofIndianparentsstated, “People likeuscanknowwhere honor byaddressinghimheretoforeinthisessayas “Akram.” database. sonal archiveofethnographicimagesandfamilialsentimentsoverlappedwithmyowninner and myself, asthechildofanimmigrantfromSouth Asia livinginthe West. The artist’sper con, couldunderstandthehammeringasoneofmyriadimagesthatframehowIseeworld affinities acrossnationalborders. ethnolinguistic heritage, aswellthesharedexperienceofBritishcolonialism, reinforcestrong most BangladeshisareMuslimwhileIndianBanglaspeakersHindus, theshared like mostpeopleintheneighboringIndianstatesof West Bengaland Tripura. Although nated inBangladesh’sindependence. A majorityofBangladeshisareBengali, speakingBangla civilians andarmedforces. Inresponse, arevolutionaryconflict, supportedbyIndia, culmi- the PakistanimilitaryjuntalaunchedasystematickillingofBangladeshinationalists, both state ontheEasternand Western sidesofIndia. In1971, EastPakistanbecameBangladesh: narrow categories”; itis “Westerners whohavetheneed forcleardefinitionsknowing Richmond, DariusSwann, andPhillip Zarrilliwrite: “Indian theatre isnotconfinedtoneat, dance andtheatrecommonon Western stagesbutnonexistentintraditionalIndia. As Farley Games areallevidenceofhisstatus. Secondly, Akram’s productionscrosstheboundary between selection ofhimasachoreographer fortheopeningceremonyof2012LondonOlympic Minogue, actressJuliette Binoche, anddancerSylvieGuillaume;theBritishgovernment’s porary dancesuperstar:hisglobal commissionsandtours;hiscollaborationswithpopstarKylie nic, racial, national, andgenderidentifications. and middleorupperclass, butthereisasignificantminority representingabroadrangeofeth- history, andpower. The majorityofspectatorsinNew York, London, or Toronto maybewhite of receptionmyinterestisinhowspectatorshipastructured socialpracticeshapedbyculture, because accessingaudienceresponsesisacomplexenterprise. Inaddressingtheheterogeneity as readthroughtheirowneyes. Audiences aredealtwith onlyingeneralterms. This maybe references theyexploreintheirwork. ways thatacknowledgethedifferentdegreesoffamiliarityspectators willhavewiththecultural their variedactsofreception(Ick2011). Furthermore, thereareartistswhocommunicatein intercultural liveswithinthesubjectivitiesofindividualspectatorsandhabitusthatshapes experience. The interculturalisnotjustaquestionofappropriatingculturalmaterials. The between theperformanceasenvisionedbyitsmakersandhowspectatorsinterpretwhatthey (Knowles 2010:2)concurthatthenegotiationofculturalidentitiestakesplaceindialogue 1994:143) andthosewhoacknowledgeinterculturalperformances’ “newly diverseaudiences” temporary manifestationsof “performing theidentityofanOtherforawhiteaudience” (Fusco of receptionforwhatisidentifiedasinterculturaltheatreanddance. Scholarsexploringcon- Understanding thiskindofspectatorraisesanarrayquestionsregardingthevariousmodes Intercultural Spectatorship Some South Asian respondentstomyquestionnairehadsimilarimpressionsoffamiliarity. Thus, asIwatchedDesh, theheartofmatterwasthatIcouldidentifyculturallexi - Akram’s workisacompellingcasestudyofinterculturalreception. Firstly, heisacontem- Reception, however, often remainsimplicit. Mostscholarsfocusonformand/orcontent Desh hadpropelledKhanandmeintoanintense, symbolicproximitythatIchooseto - Global Rasikas 17 - that they generally are that they generally are — The questionnaire inquired about audience The questionnaire inquired about audience 1 none of which play a hierarchical central role none of which play a — makes clear, however, that not all spectators can achieve rasa. Knowledge that not all spectators can achieve rasa. however, makes clear, Natyasastra

Participants were not offered remuneration. offered not were Participants Just as natya orchestrates multiple elements communicating sometimes in unison and some- sometimes elements communicating orchestrates multiple Just as natya strategies for the where text is at the center of interpretational Unlike dramatic theatre, members are confronted performance productions the audience in movement audience, sound) and disciplinary movement, image, vocabularies (text, with so many differing perspectives not equally well versed in all of them. (1997:85) in all of them. not equally well versed devotée literally, , rasika I invoke the Indian concept of Akram’s spectatorship understand To as to It is not entirely certain called rasikas. Those who can attain this state of rasa are , a spectator who shares with the performer a deep knowledge, one who appreciates the with the performer a deep knowledge, a spectator who shares , rasa 1.

To understand how theatrical consumption is shaped by rasikas’ life histories I rely on quali- understand how theatrical consumption is shaped To The anonymous of an audience questionnaire. tative data I collected through the distribution willing participants by passing around a sign- responses constitute a random sample; I identified I was up sheet asking for email addresses at an entrance to the seating area and around where assistant passed around a similar sign-up where she was A research myself sitting in the balcony. given the cost differentials sitting in the orchestra to ensure a diversity of areas in the theatre, to people I knew personally who had attended the I also sent the questionnaire between seats. Desh as part of a dance studies class at Barnard as well as to students who attended performance, 47 completed and returned them the questionnaire, Out of 65 people to whom I sent College. rate. for a 72 percent response to me via email, Accessing the World of Spectators World Accessing the times independently, Akram’s work is interdisciplinary. This makes for a particular kind of view- for a particular kind This makes work is interdisciplinary. Akram’s times independently, Heidi Gilpin, As argued by ing experience. “global rasikas”: those I identify in relation to Desh what I call ent for each and every rasika. These rasikas Akram’s experience of cultural hybridity and transnational mobility. who share themes of Desh rooted in the authority of their own have an expert understanding of the major daily lives. , a com- , are natya performances In Sanskrit, ‘dance’” (1993:3–4). ‘theatre’ versus what defines and abstraction, that entails narration, and music acting, movement, spectacle, bination of decorative elaboration. Taking into account that Akram’s viewers are interpreting a thoroughly interdisciplinary work Akram’s viewers are interpreting that into account Taking relationship. intercultural performer-audience further complicates the of (second century BCE–fourth In the Natyasastra performance because of an activated expertise. rasa the Sanskrit text describing and theorizing a unified concept of performance, century CE), refers to translated as juice or flavor, Rasa, arts. is the organizing principle of the performing emotions flow Specific (Schechner 2001). the intimate and sensuous savoring of performance concrete objective, taking on a depersonalized, and permeate the performance, suffuse, through, (Vatsyayan Ideally rasa is an experience of universality outside everyday consciousness existence. The 1996). are required. as well as a sensitive heart, genres, of the language of specific performance of feeling and knowing. Aesthetic experience occurs with the union one thing is clear: they must However, rasa. whether both performer and spectator experience Furthermore, of codes and content. share an intimacy that comes with deep understanding it is differ the limits of individual experience, although rasa ultimately takes place beyond members’ relationship to South Asian culture and to their experience of immigration. Two of Two and to their experience of immigration. Asian culture members’ relationship to South and three had Indian two were Indian citizens, the respondents had parents from Bangladesh, others stated that they were either immigrants or the children of immigrants Twelve parents. from various parts of the world. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26September 2021

18 Shanti Pillai

atre incelebratoryordisparagingterms? How does Akram’s lifeandartistictrajectorycomplicateassertions thatpositinterculturalthe- Akram’s SpinontheIntercultural of artistsapplyingforgrants. to helptheminterpretaperformance. Fundingagenciesuse reviews tohelpevaluatethequality counts. Potentialtheatregoersdependonreviewsbothtodecide whetherornottoattendand eties. As such, theirhabitusasspectatorsisfashioned bydailynegotiatingculturaldifference. grants orhavelivedforsustainedperiodsoftimeinculturalcontexts outsideoftheirnatalsoci- other culturalpointsofreference, Deshresonatesintimatelyforthembecausetheyareimmi- not sharewith Akram oreachothercommonhistories, languages, performancelexicons, and world throughtheprismofaculturallyhybridorminoritarianconsciousness. Although theydo points ofreference. Iidentifywiththissecondcategory. Bangladeshis or Pakistan. They alsohaveanemicpointofview usage refersmostcommonlytoanationalormemberofthediasporafromBangladesh, India, derived fromtheSanskritdesignationforapersonone’scountry, andwhichinmodern may identifythemselvesunderthebroaderterm “South Asian,” ordesi, analternateterm namely peoplefromIndia, Nepal, Pakistan, andSriLanka. These peoplearereferredtoand (and sometimesinresistanceto)anidentityofthosehailingfromtheregionBangladesh, perspective. Second, therearethosewhoseperspectivesshapedincorrespondencewith ence andthehistorybehindhisperformance, andthereforeunderstandtheworkfromanemic Akram dedicatedDesh. These viewersmaymostcloselyunderstand Akram’s pointsofrefer Bangladeshis whorepresenttheculturalinsidersclosestto Akram’s materialandtowhom emotional connectionwiththework. their natalcountries, andexpressedanintimateknowledgeofDesh’sthemesaswellastrong as immigrants, thechildrenofimmigrants, orashavinglivedforextendedperiodsoutsideof My surveyrevealedthat19ofthe47respondentswere “global rasikas” becausetheyidentified lives. The answersaresignificantalsobecausetheysuggestavenuesforfurtherinvestigation. range ofpossibleinterpretationsandtothewayspeoplemayrelateDesh’sthemestheirown Akram’s audiencethatnightoranyother. Iusetheresponsesmoreassignpostspointingto Desh ona “close, personallevel.” spectator attributedtoparticularmoments. Finally, Iaskedwhetheraspectatoridentifiedwith the respondent’sfavoritesectionwas. Ithentriedtofindoutthebroadrangeofmeanings region. Trying toascertainanoverallresponseDesh, IaskedwhatDeshwasaboutand respondent waswiththehistoryofBangladeshandanyperformancetraditions previous contacttherewaswiththeculturesorpeopleofSouth Asia, andhowfamiliarthe with Akram’s experienceandlexicon, askingwhethers/hehadevertraveledtoSouth Asia, what about theartist. FromhereIsoughttogetasenseofhowfamiliarthepersonmighthavebeen 2. In additiontoticketbuyers, Iconsidertheopinionsof dance critics. A reviewer’sauthority Third, therearepeoplewhodonotidentifywith Akram historicallyorethnically, yetseethe I identifythreerelatedbutdistinctkindsofrasikas. First, therearethediasporic I donotclaimthattheresponsestoquestionnairesconstitutearepresentativesampleof Initial questionsaskedwhypeoplewenttotheperformanceandwhatifanythingtheyknew horizontal and nonhierarchical exchange. ethnicities and nationalities working in ways that involve of varying of artists ings and translations on the part ibility of what Ric Knowles calls “intercultural performance-from-below” (2010:59) to refer to cultural borrow- knowing the Other (Bharucha 1993; Gomez-Peña 1993). This latter assumption has been complicated by the vis- are developed in conditions of political and economic inequality and often affirm Orientalist frameworks for results in politically neutral terms (Pavis 1996). Other arguments criticize the ways in which intercultural works One side praises the creativity forged through collaboration and mutual understanding, or at least regards the — because theypossessknowledgeof Akram’s culturallexiconandsharehistorical 2 Firstofall, hisidentityasasecond-generationBritish — although notwiththesameimmediacyas - Global Rasikas 19 thus the name of the of the name the thus — (2010), which which (2010), Gnosis At the age of seven he began his of seven he began his At the age 3 , created by Akram Khan. Sadler’s Wells, 2011. 2011. Wells, Khan. Sadler’s Akram by created , Desh . (Photo by Richard Haughton; Courtesy of Akram Courtesy Akram of Haughton; Richard by (Photo kathak. Figure 5. Akram Khan in Akram 5. Figure the including vocabularies, movement multiple from draws dancing Khan’s form, Indian classical Company) KhanDance - In Brook’s 4

, to distinguish direct forms of knowing from the purely intellectual. purely the from knowing of forms direct distinguish to , Gnosis , Akram , The Mahabharata

Akram’s horizon of dance began to expand in 1994 at De Montfort University in Leicester Akram’s horizon of dance began to expand ‘con- which is to be in a state of of what I am today, “a reflection Akram sees his company as explores a mother-son relationship between Queen Gandhari and Prince Duryodhana, two characters in the the in characters two Duryodhana, Prince and Gandhari Queen between relationship mother-son a explores (2015:52). theatre” intercultural of brand Brook’s to artisticand “intellectual an is , response Mahabharata experiences. life of difference a is Brook and himself between difference fundamental the as sees Akram What knowledge embodied by informed are epic the of readings cultural his case, Akram’s In I heard Akram relate these life details during a workshop at Cedar Lake Studios in New York City in in City York New in Studios Lake Cedar at workshop a during details life these relate Akram heard I November 2013. interviewpersonal her on based Mitra, work his Akram, with Royona by discussed As work, work, - Another important experi 3. 4. was the Boy who approaches was the Boy who approaches god the elephant-headed Ganesha asking about the story he In 1989, of the human race. appeared in Brook’s film version a relatively minor as Ekalavya, character who is at the center of one of the few moments in Brook’s telling of the epic where he narrates the kind of collateral event that is common in traditional Indian storytell- Akram’s ing (Bharucha 1993). work with Brook is notewor 1985 thy given that critics of intercultural performance often assail high-handed treatment of the for both its Orientalizing content and Brook’s The Mahabharata while doing research for the piece in India traditional performers with whom he interacted (Bharucha 1993; Hiltebeitel 1992). never seen forms he had contemporary dance, where he had his first training in ballet and in Leeds He subsequently transferred to the Northern School of Contemporary Dance before. Akram began choreographing his own work in 1998. where he graduated with high honors in was his participation in the 2000 X-Group Project at A definitive dance-theatre influence 1995. In the same year he founded the program in Brussels. de Keersmaeker’s P.A.R.T.S. Teresa Anna Akram Khan Dance Company with an ethnically diverse group of dancers. individual of origin are left behind and instead, languages fusion’: where boundaries are broken,

Asian locates him outside the practice of cultural appropriation. Born in Wimbledon in 1974 in Wimbledon Born in of cultural appropriation. him outside the practice Asian locates of of recitations of reference memories cites among his points Akram parents, to Bangladeshi in insistence on speaking his mother’s room, in the living Tagore of Rabindranath the poetry videos. and Michael Jackson the films of Bruce Lee, Bangla, study of kathak, the North Indian classical dance. He learned kathak under Sri Pratap Pawar, under Sri Pratap Pawar, He learned kathak classical dance. the North Indian study of kathak, Akram practiced School of kathak. Maharaj of the Lucknow the legendary Birju a student of at the Lincoln Center Desh talk-back. as he mentioned missing school for it, even obsessively, that officially marks a dancer’s debut. the solo performance , pravesh Akram had his manch At 18 forma- Akram’s early ence in especially tion were acting roles, Akram whom with Peter Brook, influence regards as a significant (Mitra 2015:12). Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26September 2021

20 Shanti Pillai tion haveshapedtheperformanceofitsvariousforms(Chakravorty2008). Indian classicaldancemustbeseeninrelationtohowcolonialism, nationalism, andglobaliza- animate Akram choreographicallyarethemselveshybridformswithtransnationalhistories. of lineage, ethnicexclusivity, orauthenticity. To beginwith, themovementvocabulariesthat traditions tocreatenewworkwhenthoseareappraisedinrelationideasofpurity “life-condition” (Mitra2015:11). making andinsteadlocatesthesignificanceinvestigativenatureofaestheticpracticeina negates theveryconstructionof “intercultural” asacategorymeanttodistinguishkindofart between BangladeshandBritain. Akram’s workissocompletelyinterculturalthatitallbut rary, Indianand Western, anddancetheatre, andsometimesexplodesthe “here” and “there” made fromhis “confusion” muddiesdichotomousdistinctionssuchasclassicalandcontempo- jects whomustbefluentinmultiplelexicons. Whatistobenotedabout Akramisthattheart anything uniqueto Akram; infactitistherealityofeverydayroutinestransnationalsub- ing, forgingnewspacesforthedynamicconstructionofformsidentity. This isnot otic, kinesthetic, andeconomicelementsorganizeprovisionallyintonewcategoriesofbelong- and resultofaprocesscreativeselectionrecombinationinwhichheterogeneoussemi- of homeanddiscomfortinthenewsettlement. Instead, Akram’s confusionistheimpetusfor different fromthetragicnostalgiapositedbyaconceptionofdiasporalinkedtosenseloss experiences arepushedforwardtocreatenewboundaries” (inMitra2005:3). This confusionis

guity betweenlanguageandmovementonstage” (Norridge 2010:416). viewpoints. Akram’s interculturalismarticulateshisimpulse “to playwithfertilespacesofambi- ate independently:separatestageelementsthatcommunicate together, offeringdivergent works wherelighting, sound, costume, scenography, anddigitalscenicdesignmergeyetoper orations enactthemultivalentnatureof Akram’s identity. Hisinterestsinmultimediaresult eclectic choreographerSidiLarbiCherkaouiandflamencodancer IsraelGalván. Thesecollab- beyond dance. Heworksacrossdisciplinescollaboratingwith otherartists, includingBelgian dictory forcesthatachieveastateofeasethroughspeed, agility, andprecision. Akram’s physicalityisapotentmanifestationofbodyanimatedbymultipleandevencontra- communicate sentimentsandwaysofmovingthatexceedanysinglemoderepresentation. source vocabulariesareclearevenastheycreateanewlanguagedevelopedoutoftheneedto audience asynthesisthatissimultaneouslyunexpectedandnatural. Desh in whichheintegrateshisbodyawiderangeofkinestheticinformation. Hedeliverstoan ough traininginkathak, Cunningham, andGraham. Akram’s virtuosityliesintheuniqueway remarkably skilledinmultiplemovementmodalities. This goesbeyondtheevidenceofthor It isnotsurprisingthat Akram himselfdisavowsfusion(Burt2004b:104). Firstofall, Akram is principles. FusionisatermthathasbeenusedfrequentlytodenotecontemporaryIndiandance. tiche ofelementscombinedwithlittleregardfortheircommonalities, tensions, orunderlying non-European forms(Banes2001). dance aretransnationalartformsshapedbyhistoriesoftheappropriationandtransformation 5. Akram rendersirrelevantaviewoftheinterculturalthatemphasizescomingtogether be linked to idealized of South notions of home and tradition on the part Asian immigrants (Pillai 2002). Indian classical dances transformed again both in India as the dances came to and abroad in the late 20th century sought inspiration in colonial fantasies about the exotic East (Erdman and practice of 1996). The performance was informed by of “Oriental viewings dance” by touring Europeanperformed dance companies whose artists erasing the practitioners roleas well of hereditary as institutions that sat uneasily alongside Victorian morality, tion for indigenous forms (O’Shea 2007; Peterson and Soneji 2008). Their reinvention of dance, which included ered” a nationalist sentiment based in appreciaby elites seeking to construct - in the first half of the 20th century suppressed practices in the late 19th century,After colonial efforts performance these traditions were “rediscov- Akram’s reflectionsonthecollisionandsynchronyofdisparate culturalelementsextend Akram’s approachtodancehaslittledowithfusionifonetakesthetermmeanapas- is notamorphous;the 5 Balletandmodern - - Global Rasikas 21 signifiers that that signifiers — His work unabashedly makes an art of reflecting upon His work unabashedly 6

pass as neutral universals. neutral as pass As argued by Ananya Chatterjea (2013), the inclusivity of the global stage masks the neoimperial categories that that categories the neoimperial masks stage global the of inclusivity the (2013), Chatterjea Ananya by argued As in based work create favor scholars and who producers, artists curators, of priorities The dance.” “world define structures choreographic and vocabularies contemporaryand modern movement dance Western Akram’s pieces are grounded in a sophisticated conceptual grasp of cultural difference. His His difference. grasp of cultural a sophisticated conceptual are grounded in Akram’s pieces determine the careers to sidestep conditions that too often reductively Akram has managed is a particularly rich example of Akram’s desire to reach “cultural insiders,” in insiders,” “cultural Akram’s desire to reach example of Desh is a particularly rich Examining the use of highly specific cultural references is crucial to unpacking Desh’s mean- Examining the use of highly specific cultural Desh is the first where his past productions, Akram’s cultural heritage has informed While 6. - imagi between nation, complex interplay as the result of the identity formation work analyzes demand “the enormous Burt commented, As Ramsay belonging. multiple modes of and nation, - kathak and contempo dialogue [between the relevance of this work demonstrates Akram’s for backgrounds in our cultural and ethnic people from diverse to the experience of rary dance] (2004a). globalized times” transnational, Asian creators. Asian and diasporic of difference by using a choreography that explores cultural specificity rather than flattens it. rather than flattens it. choreography that explores cultural specificity difference by using a he resists easy transla- audience, Akram wants to communicate with a broad while Furthermore, his original points of reference. most pleases those able to appreciate His choreography tion. is full of Bangladeshi his- The work of Bangladeshi global rasikas. this case a population Indeed the piece translation. and whole sections in Bangla are without tory and iconography, Bangladeshi in 1971. 40th anniversary of the founding of Bangladesh the debuted in 2011, Commissioner attended the visit rehearsals and the Bangladesh High Brits were invited to London premiere.

ing and broader cultural significance. Having said this, it is important to acknowledge that Having said this, ing and broader cultural significance. only one of and imagery constitutes stories, icons, understanding the Bangladeshi metaphors, Most people who see Desh will not process this level of the multiple layers of interpretation. the majority of spectators might not realize they In fact, work or even necessarily want to do so. in the digi- For example, historical connotations. are being presented with images loaded with tank before a little boy appears opposite an army tally projected scenes of the enchanted forest, I assumed that When I saw this Akram. pursued by turning around and running into the woods Akram was looking for his own childhood lost in the and that the little boy was metaphorical, Akram made for a Bangladeshi-British com- Later upon viewing an interview of jungles of time. writer and actress Leesa Gazi (Mazhar Ronni munity television program by Bangladeshi-British collaborators were moved by an iconic photograph Akram and his artistic I learned that 2011), armed with a defiant fist raised against Pakistani of a boy standing on the streets of Dhaka, independence. forces during the 1971 protests that led to Akram admits interview on London’s Channel 4, In a 2011 he has taken Bangladesh as a focus. He explains, having been afraid to take up the issue because he felt it was too close and familiar. yourself very “I think it’s about confronting myself that I was afraid of because you have to ask renowned Yip, Tim visual artist Desh collaborator, 2011). (Channel 4 News difficult questions” (2000) helped him Hidden Dragon Tiger, artistic direction of Crouching for his Oscar-winning Akram At the performance talk-back at Lincoln Center in 2013, to get past his hesitation. Bangladeshi Global Rasikas Bangladeshi Global Rasikas requires Akram’s references cultural insiders privy to Thinking about spectators who constitute at some point within a series of concentric construing insider status as inhabiting a position the center Each position indicates a particular experiential and psychic distance from circles. First- and second-generation Bangladeshi immigrants Akram’s personal history resides. where mind. Desh was made with these people very much in are in the closest orbit. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26September 2021

22 Shanti Pillai Bangladeshi participantsinmysurvey: Implied isthethrillofcommunicatinginanargotfrontotherswhowillnotunderstand. As interviewerLeesaGazicomments, “It willticklethemintheback” (MazharRonni2011). language andcultureatthecenterofhisworkcertainlyisasourcepleasuretothisaudience. lion speakers(Lewis, Simons, andFennig2015). The factthatafamousartistwouldputBangla UK andBengaliistheseventhmostwidelyspokenlanguageinworldwitharound189mil- this demographicissignificant:Bengalisconstituteasubstantialimmigrantpopulationinthe people ofBengaliheritagearefarfromthemajority Akram’s spectatorsinternationally. But able foreveryone. This positionshouldnottobeunderestimatedgiventhatBangladeshisand Here Akram unabashedlyacknowledgesthathepresentsmaterialinwaysarenottranslat- how heconceivedthepieceforBangladeshis: Bangladeshi identity. oped thisidea, hemovedawayfromapersonalperspectiveandtowardsbroaderviewof explained that Yip suggestedhetakehis “roots” asthetopicforhisnextpiece. As Akram devel- Bangladeshis. Inmanywaysthe conversationwithGazinotonlyaffirmstheimportanceof the familial interactions. during whatSchechneridentifiesasthe “aftermath” of performance(1985), Deshfacilitated spectator torevisitmemoriesofpastconversationsaboutBangladeshi culture. After theshow, not havebeenexperiencedas “larger thanlife.” OffurthernoteishowDesh promptedthe ter. Hadthesamespectator watchedDeshinacommunitycenterthefamilialconnectionwould also inwitnessingtheperformanceaspaceendowedwith culturalcapitalofaglobalcen- This respondentlocatespleasurenotjustinempathywith Akram’s performanceofself, but 7. important places! was mybrotherandIwatchingperformingat oneoftheworld’smost and aboutourparents’lives. Iknowthesesituationsand storiesandIalmostfeltlikehe a conversationwithhisfatherandalsoallthepartsabouthearing storiesfromthewar somehow touchedsomethingdeepinsideofme. Iespeciallylikedthescenewherehehas This uniqueformofpleasureinspiredalengthyresponsefromonethetwodiasporic dence [in1971]willknowexactlywhat’shappening. (2013:36) Bengali ispoliticallyconnectedtoacertainera. The peoplewholivedthroughindepen- Bangladeshi, you’llget100percentbecauseallthewriting, thesymbols, thelanguagein up with for Bangladeshis. It’snotthatit’smadefor Westerners, thepeoplethatI’vegrown If you’reBangladeshiyou’llgeteverysinglemetaphor. I’mreallyhappythatImadeit In aninterviewwithKarissaKenzpublishedintheLincolnCenterprogram, Akram reveals Although aglobalattraction, Akram positionshimselfverymuchasa “brother” to All quotes from my 2013 surveys areAll quotes from my unattributed. 2013 Respondentssurveys anonymously. completed the survey thing aboutwhatIwasgoingtobeseeing, justseeingitonabig definitely thinkthatthisonewasverypowerfulformebecauseeventhoughIknewsome with Akram Khanandhisworkatadeeplevel. Ihaveneverseenhisotherdances, butI mance aboutBangladesh. Havingsaidthat, Icandefinitelysaythatverymuchidentified myself asthekindofpersonwhomightbeparticularlyenthralledbywatchingaperfor other American friendsjustbecausewesharedaheritage. So, Iwouldnothavethoughtof I hadotherBangladeshifriendsbutneverthoughtofthemasmoremythan always atoddswithmyparentssoIneverreallyidentifiedanykindofethnicpride. was largerthanlifeanditmylife, atleastinsomeways. IgrewupintheUSandwas The dayafterseeingtheshowIcalledmyparentsandtoldthemallaboutit. Forme, Desh — I wasbornandbroughtupinLondon 7 — they’ll get80percent. Butifyou’re stage atLincolnCenter - - Global Rasikas 23

Michel Orier, former artistic director of MC2:Grenoble; Irene Lu, Lu, Irene MC2:Grenoble; of former artistic director Orier, Michel by (Photo designer. lighting Hulls, Michael assistant; Yip’s Tim Company) Khan Dance courtesy Akram of Hon; JiaXuan Figure 6. Research trip to Bangladesh, 2010. Among the the Among 2010. Bangladesh, to trip Research 6. Figure Chaudhry, Farooq left) (from participantswere trip the on writer; Khan KarthikaCompany; Naïr, Akram of producer

The use of Bangla sprinkled throughout the interview further affirms that the dialogue is throughout the interview further The use of Bangla sprinkled - Akram’s personal identity imbues Desh and his work more generally with spe Although The intense process of cre- staged for community members. Akram and Gazi are sitting in Sadler’s Wells a few days prior Wells in Sadler’s Akram and Gazi are sitting members. staged for community that is not surprising given is an informal intimacy to their conversation There to the debut. a Bengali poem and her daughter In Desh Gazi’s voice recites well. that they know one another Akram’s demeanor, interview I was struck by In watching the in a voiceover. Akram’s niece plays evidenced a lifetime of the kind his way of speaking and body language the way in which both in every- Asian immigrants practice routinely South of code-switching that second-generation talk-back at His 1993; Maira 2002; Narayan 2010). day life (Ballard 2007; Jackson and Nesbitt and occasional obscenity that one expects from a Lincoln Center was peppered with the slang his speech was more however, In the conversation with Gazi, London artist of his generation. Asia. in daily life throughout South tempered and he used hand gestures common refer it is important to note that the use of Bangladeshi cial significance for Bangladeshis, ences and language is not rooted as Akram’s own life, solely in his previous choreographic works have been — particularly Creating (2005). Zero Degrees Desh involved a 10-day research Akram trip to Bangladesh for A film and his creative team. about the making of Desh doc- uments the group immers- ing themselves in the sights and sounds of daily life and meet- ing with people of all ages from all walks of life (Coates 2012). Desh evolved through a collec- tive ethnographic process. atively selecting cultural ele- combined with the very ments, deliberate treatment of meta- is labor not read- however, phor, ily available to the eye of many Akram’s family history and Most critics highlight This is evident in the reviews of Desh. viewers. Akram’s efforts to repre- but do not discuss cultural references. personal journey of identity, Akram mentions that Star, writing in the Toronto Crabb, Only Michael sent Bangladesh are lost. while Donald Hutera in Dance (2013), research” “intensive and his collaborators engaged in acknowledges that Desh’s debut coincided with the 40th anniversary of Bangladeshi Magazine diasporic Bangladeshi audience, but also firmly locates Akram as a member of that community. of that community. Akram as a member but also firmly locates audience, diasporic Bangladeshi Born cultural capital. community herself mobilizes significant rasika who Gazi is a Bangladeshi - of diasporic cul she is an active producer of her life in the UK, but living much in Bangladesh victims advocate for rape She is also an active and actress. director, playwright, ture as a writer, the public figure within is a well-regarded, Because she war of independence. from Bangladesh’s - clearly with the con work aligns him Akram’s her support of British community, Bangladeshi dance audience in the most in the contemporary Of course, that public. cerns and approval of such renowned artists would not appear on many Moreover, interview. UK would not see this forums might be seen as too Community recognized by a wider public. a show after they were would not be appreciated by an or as contexts where aesthetic technique too limiting, parochial, with contemporary dance. audience generally unfamiliar Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26September 2021

24 Shanti Pillai (Photo by Richard Haughton; of Akram courtesy Dance Khan Company) with an adulthood that was larger than expected. seems to come to terms Khan Figure 7. Akram in Khan About thetreatmentofHossain, Akram tellsGazi: by protesters, depictedinananimationofasilhouettedmultitude projectedonthebackwall. spray paintedlikegraffitionthebackofahugechair. Inanotherscenethesloganischanted does notappearasacharacter, althoughthewords “democracy free” if theyshouldrepresenthimdirectlyorindirectly, eventually goingwiththelatter. Hossain to GazithattheartisticteamofDeshfeltdeeplyinspiredbythisiconicfigure. Theywondered ing oppositionmovementthateventuallysucceededinousting Ershadin1990. Akram explains President HussainMuhammadErshad. Hossain’sdeath servedasarallyingpointforthegrow- who wasmartyredin1987bytheBangladeshipolicewhenhe participatedinprotestsagainst Akram citesfreedomfighterNoorHossain, hischest and backpaintedwithliberationslogans, Bangladeshi experiencerelevanttowhathashappenedinother partsoftheworld. Forexample, it allowsmultipleentriesintoitsculturallandscape. Among Akram’s strategiesistomake struction oftheexoticasinscrutable. ness toexperienceculturaldisorientation, orisratheralegacyofthedeep-rooted Western con- Bangla. Itisunclearwhetherfailingtomentiontheseimportantthemesconstitutesawilling- discuss Bangladesh’shistory, nordotheyrespondtothefactthatsectionsofpiecearein when confrontedwithwhatareforthemunknownculturalreferences. These criticsdonot where worksofcontemporarydancearemostoftenperformedfeeltheneedtodoresearch Akram andcollaboratorSidiLarbiCherkaouiwerebasedonOrientalistassumptions (2010). Akram’s artfuldismantlingofstable, discretenotionsofidentitybecausetheirownreadings reviews ofZeroDegrees, raisessimilardoubtsobservingthatcriticsmissedthecomplexityof an artist’sgrapplingwithpoliticallyloadedquestions. ZoeNorridge, inherexaminationofthe versal. (inMarzharRonni 2011) in Egypt, itcouldbethe uprisingin Tunisia, Libya. Soitreflects...itbecomesmoreuni- what hewastryingtodo, ina sense bykeepingitopencouldbetheriotsanduprising being specificlike, Ididn’t dressupasNoorphysically, butbecausewewereinspired by And somehowhe’sinthewhole piecebutthenagainbecausewe’veleftitopenwithout As aresult, reviewersdonotexplicitlyrecognizethatoneofthevirtuesDeshis Desh alsoraisesthemoregeneralissueofextenttowhichcriticsinglobalcities Desh, created by Akram Sadler’s Khan. Wells, 2011. tural heritage, ratherthanas a naturalextensionofhiscul- references isseenassomehow Akram’s useofspecificBangla question oftheextenttowhich ther atissueistheunsettling might notbesurprising. Butfur ture andhistory, theomission Bangladeshi orSouth Asian cul- the USarenotfamiliarwith ers inEurope, Canada, and (2014). Giventhatmostreview- familiar, andverypersonal” ence; theywereveryreal, very “not fictionfortheDhakaaudi- length, notingthattheywere tural andpoliticalreferencesat The DailyStar, discussesthecul- English-language reviewed contrast, FahmimFerdouswho independence (2011). Insharp

— his politicalslogan Desh inBangladesh’s newspaper, — are - Global Rasikas 25 - Thus, to iden- Thus, 8 , created by Akram Khan. Sadler’s Khan. Sadler’s Akram by created , Desh Figure 8. Akram Khan in Akram 8. Figure film vintage and slogan independence Bangladeshi A 2011. Wells, Richard by (Photo enormousan of back the at appear posters chair. Company) Khan Dance courtesy Akram of Haughton;

Desh was made with

This strategy consists of a selective affirmation of cultural commonalities and overlooking of differences (Rai and (Rai of differences overlooking and commonalities of cultural affirmation selective a of consists strategy This (Shankar communities Asian South different between disparities class the override not does This 2009). Reeves in communities form immigrants of children as lines generational along emerge particular differences In 2008). - pro Such 2003). Shukla 2005; Purkayastha 2002; (Maira consumption and practices cultural pop of context the desig- been historically have UK the in populations Asian South while example, varycesses For location. with the to relationship flexible and ambivalent an occupied have Asians South US the in 2004), (Desai black as nated 1998). categorySrikanth and (Shankar American Asian of As noted earlier, India and Bangladesh share borders, history, language, and kathak dance. and kathak dance. language, history, share borders, India and Bangladesh As noted earlier, 8.

Global Rasikas Although they are Bangladeshis in mind, “cul- by no means the only can identify who tural insiders” lexicons. Akram’s themes and Many in or from countries Asia will share throughout South points cultural and historical of reference with Bangladeshis. that this however, Understand, subgroup of spectators is very indexes “South Asian” a diverse. lin- regional, variety of religious, and ethnic affil- national, guistic, “It is most realistic to see iations. Asians abroad as members South of different diasporic strands, or even as different diaspora groups originating on the one who have created subcontinent, many transnational communities which share a sense of origin in that region of the world” Asia as a South (Brown 2006:4). shared geocultural unit emerges to see themselves in relation to larger collectives in the diaspora where different people begin of racialization (Menon 2006). primarily to challenge their common experience South Asian South Asian - the piece is ostensi Thus while Akram’s bly about Bangladesh, - is with commu greater concern hope for indepen- nicating the dence globally. tify Akram’s work as speaking to South Asians acknowledges, to borrow Lisa Lowe’s character to borrow Lisa Lowe’s Asians acknowledges, Akram’s work as speaking to South tify (1991). [and] multiplicity” hybridity, “heterogeneity, Americans, Asian ization of Asian acquaintances who as well as three South survey, Asians who responded to my The South This of Desh. all intimately understood both the themes and physical vocabulary saw the show, understanding led to various judgments about the success of Desh both as an expression of the Akram’s Also common was an appraisal of artwork. Asian diasporic experience and as an South Big Leagues.” “the move into what one respondent called Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26September 2021 26 Figure 9. Akram in Khan Shanti Pillai Haughton; of Akram courtesy Dance Khan Company) in silhouette, conversesKhan, with an invisible niece. (Photo by Richard 10. that suchimplies. “diasporic imaginary,” withallthefantasyandcontradictoryreadingsofhistoryculture with examiningthewaysinwhichmyperceptionsofDeshhavebeenshapedbyaSouth Asian and whicharehighlyrelevantforconsideringthereceptionofculturalinsiders, Iwillbegin porary choreographerfromIndia, whohaslivedformany yearsintheUS, respondedtomy work banalorinsignificant. Forexample, aprofessional bharatanatyamdancerandcontem- may sharecertainvectorsofmyownidentityformation. Other South Asians mayfind Akram’s ous formsofIndianperformance, includingkathak. Iampredisposedtobothunderstandand of Akram’s movementvocabulary. Iamabharatanatyam dancerandgrewupwatchingvari- ical ofthefantasies, longings, andselectivememories ofmanydiasporicSouth Asians. of mylifethatinamaterialsenseisdistantformonthsattime. Akram arousesanostalgiatyp- largely inallowing Akram tocreateasensoryexperienceofmyownhistoryandanintegralpart ting inLincolnCenter, butwhoseeternalproximityIamremindedofbyDesh. Mypleasurelies desh thatresideinthememoriesofmyownprivateSouthIndia start ofthisarticle, Isharewith Akram anarchiveofsounds, sights, andgesturesfromBangla 9. Because myownresponsesasaSouth Asian rasikaaresomethingthatIcanaccessindetail Dudrah 2014), and digital platforms (Gajjala and Gajjala 2008) among others. rial practices such as cooking (Mannur 2010), queer cinema (Thangaraj,(Gopinath 2005), sports Burdsey, and (1990:236). Scholars of the South Asian diaspora have explored how this sentiment is constituted through mate- Stuart Hall claims the diasporic condition is riddled with an “overwhelming nostalgia” for a past of “lost origins” hyphenated identities (2007). and imagined displacements that provoke politics, as well trauma and exclusionary as progressive explorations of appearance of deterritorialized zones of hybrid interactions. He argues that diasporic peoples are haunted by real inherently progressive allegiance that characterizes late modernity’s supposed evisceration of nation states and the Vijay Mishra’s “diasporic imaginary” is an analytical and ethical maneuver for exposing notions of diaspora as an My positiveassessmentofDeshisnotnecessarilyrepresentativethefeelingsotherswho Secondly, IhavesomescantknowledgeofBangladesh’shistory. Thirdly, asIwroteatthe Desh, created by Akram Sadler’s Khan. Wells, 9 To beginwiththereismyfamiliaritykathak, thedancethatisbasis 2011. nothing I’deverseen.” be “novel,” “unusual,”and “like who foundthesamesceneto respondents tomyquestionnaire from severalnon–South Asian perspective wasverydifferent upon aknowntechnique. My ness Akram creativelybuilding it wasthrillingformetowit- and gestures. At thesametime, scapes throughfacialexpressions ate multiplecharactersandland- performers Ihaveseenwhocre- thing Iknewfrommyriadsolo duct ofhisownbody, wassome- the audiencethroughcon- ble niecewhoisconjuredfor Akram talkswithhisinvisi- storytelling inthescenewhere texts inDesh. Forexample, the between theverbalandbodily take pleasureintheinterplay — a farawayplacewhensit- 10 Global Rasikas 27 not South — The idea that Akram might internalize the priorities of the Akram might internalize the The idea that 11

was “a tad too slick,” or “a tad too slick,” saying Desh was with the spectacle, also expressed dissatisfaction —

Many scholars address the internalization of the Orientalist gaze, but usually to suggest how non-Western per- non-Western how suggest to usually but gaze, Orientalist the of internalization the address scholars Many and global to access gaining of goals their realizing to route en difference of projections totalizing formers resist 2005). Sellers-Young and Shay 1995; Savigliano 2004; Mitchell 2013; (Kringelbach markets regional Not much. It’s a topic dealt with a lot by many artists on different levels. Most artists on different levels. a lot by many artists It’s a topic dealt with Not much. - he had a great produc difference was that Akram’s the question on identity. struggle with But when larger than life concept. that seemed like a alongside his narrative tion value he have to say? What does is left with the same issue. you remove all that he Akram’s search for about and choreographer was ambivalent The bharatanatyam dancer For some South Asian viewers the sheer pleasure of culturally identifying with Akram Asian viewers the sheer pleasure of culturally identifying with For some South identi- extends beyond the Bangladeshi ethnonational “representing” Akram’s The kudos for 11. ’s generous budget, sponsored by the major French civil engineering firm, Colas, allows for Colas, firm, by the major French civil engineering sponsored Desh’s generous budget, respondent preferred less reli- This unthinkable for most artists. technological showmanship Other respondents She was not alone in her reactions. ance on large spectacle. Asians submerged by the need to show “I did wonder if his true voice is getting declaring, identity, The impulse to declare ethnic or British or that he is a kathak dancer.” that he is Bangladeshi must make themselves bodies of the extent to which non-Western identity raises the question The demand for the white gaze. correspond to how they are marked by accessible in ways that while at the same “exotic East” legacies about the a presentation of self drawn from Orientalist shapes how artists “contemporary art” familiar with time appealing to international audiences Akram perform their identity. like “gimmicky” and the overall narrative tiring. In response to In response tiring. and the overall narrative “gimmicky” Desh saying she found questionnaire she said: level, personal on a close, with the piece of whether she identified the question of real storytelling skill.” “lack wrote that the technology concealed a Another “heavy handed.” white gaze is surely disappointing for some South Asian viewers. On the other hand, observers On the other hand, Asian viewers. South white gaze is surely disappointing for some commitment Akram’s fierce the ways in which such as dance scholar Royona Mitra underscore (27) “strategic exoticism” (2015:113) shapes the “postcolonial strategy of non-translation” to a he uses to resist imperialism. A Bengali woman born in Kolkata and liv- strategies. upstages any disagreement over his artistic She to hear the voiceover in her native Bangla. “thrilled” ing in New Jersey related that she felt friends she had several Bangladeshi up in India, noted that although she was born and brought with them despite the fact that she had been raised a “sense of family” in New Jersey and felt a “It made my whole week she wrote. I saw this piece,” “I am so happy Hindu and they Muslims. Asians.” He really speaks for us as South place. to see one of us up there in such a prestigious when asked if she “a proud daughter of South Indians,” a person who identified as Similarly, Akram was representing us The show is gorgeous and “Of course! liked the piece indicated, desis and all we can do!” Akram’s success Many respondents find interview. fication summoned by Leesa Gazi’s televised “like The “us.” triumph of an underdog who is like on the global stage a confirmation of the the racism designates not only shared language and culture but also the confrontation with us” Desh Asian immigrants. primary destinations for South America, endemic to England and North territory at Lincoln Center constitutes not only evidence of excellence but also a crossing into who Asian respondent As another South Asians as welcoming. not always perceived by South “It is not usual for people like us to be stated, “American of Gujarati heritage” identified as an is art and doing things in places like Lincoln Center because white people like what they think not everything we do might be something they would like.” Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26September 2021

28 Shanti Pillai spiritual powerasrevealedindifferentculturaltraditions” (LincolnCenter2016b). Here “spir that framesthe White LightFestivalofwhichDeshwasapart. The festival “explores music’s much informationaboutprogrammingdecisions. Itisthissameuniversal, humanistdiscourse Center presentsis “superb” byvirtueofitsappearanceonstages, thereislittleneedtooffer them availableforalargelywhitemiddle-andupper-class audience. BecausewhatLincoln Center, likemultinationalcorporations, hasthepowertoidentifyvaluableobjectsandmake formance traditions, assumingthattheirvalueaccruesfromdesignationas “art.” Lincoln Shakespearean metaphor “All theworld’sastage,” whichpresumesequivalenceamongper curatorial processbasedonseeminglyuniversalcriteriasuchas “superb” isbolsteredbythe gramming” (LincolnCenter2016a). The presumedculturalopennessofLincolnCenter’s nization’s websitedeclarationthatitisthe “world’s leadingpresenterofsuperbartisticpro on aclose, personallevel, comparedwith10outofthe28nonimmigrantrespondents. Some Taiwan, andthe US Virgin Islands. than South Asia, including Brazil, France, Germany, Greece, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, tified themselvesasfirst-orsecond-generation immigrantsfromavarietyoflocationsother identify thiswayisclearintheresponsestomysurvey. Outof47respondents, 12peopleiden- worlds, simultaneouslyexperiencingbothalienationand belonging. The rangeofrasikaswho people withculturalmobility. At thecenterofDesh arethemesoflivingsuspendedbetween tional cosmopolitanism. structures offeelingrootedinthesharedexperienceimmigration andotherformsoftransna- raderie inthecontextofformationapublicwhosemodes ofreceptionareinformedby unearth acamaraderiethatisfeltifnotexactlynamed” (2014:213). Iamconcernedwithcama- visual artofthechildrenCuban, Korean, and Vietnamese immigrantsintheUSas “a wayto here alignswiththeworkof Alexandra T. Vazquez whoengageswiththe music, writings, and South Asia butexpandstoencompasscamaraderieacrossethnic andraciallines. Myinterest text andinteraction. As such, thekindoflocalityinvokedbyDeshisnotlimitedtotiesbasedon rituals” (Mani2012:4). This viewofcommunityislessaboutgeographyandmorecon- affinity withthoseseenassimilartooneself, oftenthroughaseriesofsharedexperiencesand is asitefortheformulationof “locality,” definedas “thepracticeofestablishingrelations munity andbelonging. However, thisisonlyoneofseveralwaystoreceive Akram’s work. Desh Cultural textssuchasDeshcontributetoaBangladeshiandbroaderSouth Asian senseofcom- Mobile andMinoritarianGlobalRasikas tradition andoffersasecularviewofspiritualtranscendence. recognize the “superb.” The emphasison “tradition” isironicgiventhat Akram’s workflouts itual power” isproducedasacommoditythatself-evidenttothekindofviewerwhocan form’s parameters. connoisseurs ofkathakfrequentlyidentify Akram’s dancingashighly “masculine” withinthe inherent “eroticism” (Banerji2009). Inadditiontobeingamanandescapingtheseassociations, classical Indiandancer’sbodymightrelegateallothersignificationssecondarytoitssupposed representation ofcommunalsuccess. Moreover, thefetishizingonglobalstageoffemale negotiation ofidentitywouldlikelybeseeningenderedtermsandtherebyless “natural” inits not tomentionwomen’sobjectificationbythemalegaze(Mulvey1975), awoman’sstaged legacy ofthefemalebody’ssubjugationincolonialdiscourse(McClintock1995;Shohat1991), mance ofmasculinityasintegraltohowhesignifiesacollectivevictoryunderdogs. Giventhe looks gender. Hisacceptanceasasymbolofempowermentdoesnotacknowledge hisperfor All ofthepeopleinthiscategory answered “yes” whenaskediftheyidentifiedwithDesh Many in Akram’s audiencewhodonotidentifyaseither BangladeshiorSouth Asian are The perceptionofLincolnCenterasaspacewhiteexclusivityisatoddswiththeorga South Asian informants’celebrationof Akram’s entranceintothehegemonicartworldover ------Global Rasikas 29 - but an act of — where something stands for something else —

’s major themes in terms of the quest for a sense of Other rasikas voiced empathy with Desh’s major themes in terms of the quest for of But I immediately recognized this thing I do not know anything about Bangladesh. I came to this country [the and being neither here nor there. being both here and there, thing to do and gave me things I could not US] many years ago because it was the right There are times when I think about going but it has never been easy. have had otherwise, It’s something I even from my family. but when I go there I feel far away, back to Mexico, away. It never goes struggle with everyday. A different kind of borderland was asserted by a respondent who identified as a I understood this because I went to an international school in South Korea and have I or white people. Americans, Korean never felt like I belonged with native Koreans, seem to be in my own category in which I have one leg immersed in the Korean culture American culture. and another in the Other immigrant viewers directed themselves with greater specificity to Akram’s treatment Akram’s treatment greater specificity to themselves with viewers directed Other immigrant and the roots of one’s fam- it, The reconciling with of culture. I understood the distance for one’s family are very life” “better The costs of a culture. ily as one lives in a different And that was palpable in the work. high in this sense. it seeks to communicate is of paramount Here the body’s ability to embody that which embodiment. At the level of meaning, dance doesn’t tell, it does” (2004). I recall from Desh (2004). it does” dance doesn’t tell, At the level of meaning, embodiment. his the overpowering wind from the industrial fan, Akram fighting to advance in the face of his body on I remember the heaving of forward. arms thrashing as his torso pushed resolutely the precar down to the grey mound on the floor, a loud exhalation as he brought the hammer himself I envision his frenetic spurts and sudden stops as he propelled iousness of his balance. These mute yet wholly articulate enact- traffic. across the bewildering moving lines of Dhaka than they are actual corporeal instances of embat- ments are less representations of struggle physical actions In the concreteness of these strength. and disorientation, fragility, tlement, the struggles of others. Akram’s personal struggles resonate with A Mexican man related: home. in the Here the colliding cultural cartographies of Bangladesh and England find their parallel where culture is hybrid and plural and citizens shift con- “borderlands” in the US and Mexico, These and perspectives (Anzaldúa 1987). languages, tinuously in between points of reference, creative and subversive junctures are found all over the world. since she was raised in a “global rasika” I include her as a Euroamerican who grew up in Korea. country outside her nation of origin: of alienation. A woman who identified herself as a “Caribbean immigrant woman from the woman from the “Caribbean immigrant a identified herself as A woman who of alienation. stated: Islands” US Virgin in representations of immi- as well as classic trope experience, It is a common immigrant whether through the sev- sacrifice, in the new country is obtained through that success grants, labor. or through excessive familiar, the giving up of the security of the ering of affective bonds, his approach to the theme not reference economic hardship per se, Akram does Although forms of duress that enough that it can encapsulate the multiple of struggle is open-ended of a “high cost” respect to the what this respondent implies with including immigrants face, “better life.” - fundamen “Dance is not, Williamson, critic Judith As argued by British cultural importance. a form of representation tally, immigrant answers were very matter-of-fact. A young Malaysian American woman stated, “Yes I “Yes woman stated, American young Malaysian A answers were very matter-of-fact. immigrant a first- Akram faces as some of the challenges I also experience with this work because identified with the woman said she identified a Greek Similarly, parents.” child of immigrant generation I am an immigrant.” “because work, Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26September 2021

30 Shanti Pillai more culturesmeet In thewordsofperformanceartistGuillermoGómez-Peña, “Whenever andwherevertwoor DanceKhan Company) light, submerge his body as it hangs suspended upside down. (Photo by Richard Haughton; of Akram courtesy monsoon byof golden ribbons that descend to fill the stage and, awashbaptized in aa blue-greencathartic Figure 10. Akram in Khan A Germanwomanwhosettled intheUSasayoungadultspokeaboutlanguage: feelings aboutthepieceintermsbothpersonalandpolitical: selves deeplyinthenarrative. A Russianwomanliving intheUSfortenyearsexplainedher Desh carriedforthemacertainkindofintimatelegibilitythatallowedtoinvest- sentiments aroundissuesofdisplacement. Similartotheexperienceofnon-Europeanrasikas, embarks onajourneywithoutfixeddestinationbutfromwhichtheycanneverreturn. experience, whileproductive, isnevereasy. As therespondentsand Akram attest, theindividual the littlegirl). with themmadethepieceespecially relevant(especiallythescenewhereheinteractswith trying todecidewhatlanguage tospeakwiththemandwhatpartsofmycultureshare cific culturethatIamnot(much) partof. Ittouchedmedeeply. Maybehaving children, I foundthepiecetobevery “universal” thoughitwasobviouslydealingwithaveryspe - try tobeinvolvedintheconversationsevenfromhere. but Iknowhowhefeelsaboutthepoliticsthere. Sometimes Ifeelalmostlikemissit, I people thereissomethingIamthinkingabout. Idon’tknow aboutBangladeshthismuch, politics. Ifeelpassionaboutwhatistakingplaceinmycountry. What ishappeningto see mebuttheydon’tunderstandthatIamnothereinthesame waytheyare. And the from here. Ithinkalotofpeopleknowheredon’tunderstand thispartofme. They just Not inallthings. A lotofthingsIamgladleftbehind andtherearealotofthingsItake I knowthiskindofwaytobesomewhereandpartthehead islivingsomewhereelse. Three outofthefourEuropeanimmigrantswhoansweredmyquestionnaireechoedthese — peacefully orviolently Desh, created by Akram Sadler’s Khan. Wells, 2011. Towards is the end Khan — there isaborderexperience” (1993:46). Such Global Rasikas 31 is — enmeshed as that — I think it spoke to universal themes of understanding one’s I think it spoke to universal — evidenced by their “ways of living at home abroad or abroad at evidenced by their — because I have lived and grown up in several countries in my life, this is life, and grown up in several countries in my because I have lived —

ways of inhabiting multiple places at once, of being different beings simultaneously, of of being different beings simultaneously, ways of inhabiting multiple places at once, —

Although not expressed in terms of loss or extreme effort, at issue in these two responses is at issue in these effort, of loss or extreme expressed in terms Although not moving it was extremely Yes own culture from dif- that ensues in this process of making your identity and confusion ferent places in my life. something very central of recombining cultural bits Akram’s project these respondents mirrors The daily lives of all (1998:28) “the thought-filledness of movement” Building on Susan Foster’s proposition of I identify this mode of spectatorship as “minoritarian” borrowing from Deleuze and Guattari “minoritarian” I identify this mode of spectatorship as and belonging enacts cul- time, place, Articulating the disjunctive relationship between rasikas? Desh takes place primarily in the Akram communicate with minoritarian How does a sense of distance not only between a “there” and a “here,” but also between one’s inner points also between one’s but “here,” a and “there” a distance not only between a sense of selec- part as a process of manifests in This experience world. and the surrounding of reference - and social repro service of self-fashioning elements put at the among varied cultural tion from as an who identified the university students referenced by one of This same issue was duction. US: growing up outside the American of what cultural elements to In this decision-making process own culture. in order to make your strategic choices that guide these rasikas make and in what contexts, keep and what to discard rasikas reside with him in the Akram’s performances of everyday life. them in their embodied (Mitra 2015) where binaries “third space” and cultural terrain of the heterogeneous temporal categories are brought together and local/global are disrupted as opposing such as past/present Soja 1996). to form new ways of being (Bhabha 1994; body to “connect that body while at the same time and how rules convey specificities to the choreography becomes both a theory and a (29), other cultural orchestrations of identity” of “choreography Each third space citizen commits to a method for understanding hybridity. in which bodies and and multilayered process” decentralized, “pliable, meaning a identification,” flexible approaches and develop produce ways of knowing, environments shape one another, a constella- From self and community (Rosa 2015:10). towards a transcultural understanding of together senses of themselves and courses of action tion of cultural possibilities people cobble sources of environmental and kinesthetic informa- as their mobile bodies transmute multiple Their cosmopolitanism tion. seeing the larger picture stereoscopically with the smaller” (Breckenridge et al. 2002:11) (Breckenridge et al. with the smaller” seeing the larger picture stereoscopically home Akram does They do in daily life what practice. not just a state of mind; it is a choreographic on stage. resisting standardized, Minoritarians take an ethical stance in dissonance with power, (1987). and not an identity as It is a position while moving toward a new social order. fixed categories, singular whole under the umbrella of a unified, the latter implies the collapsing of multiplicity expected to represent all constituents. historical leg- tural identity as unmoored from traditional parameters of fixed geographies and Akram’s cultural points of reference; and Asian immigrants do not share Non–South acies. or the two the privileged racial and class experience of the Russian and German immigrants, Akram’s story is distanced from Euroamericans who had grown up abroad, and extreme cultural disso- violent nation building, story is in postcolonial forced migrations, these respondents express a deep resonance with Desh rooted in a general condition Yet nance. of discomfort in relation to fixed identities. Questions of racial- in an individual’s interpretation of history. domestic sphere of the family, In exploring diasporic identity in ways that leave ization or class oppression are largely absent. Akram broadens the range of audience mem- aside the particularizing politics of race and class, Asian He takes on his journey not only non–South bers who might personally relate to Desh. but in the social contexts in which Desh is most likely to be seen, “other” rasikas who are Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00671 by guest on 26September 2021

32 Shanti Pillai work tobeseenonmajorglobalstages. dismissal ofthefixityidentityisamong Akram’sgreatestachievements. Itiswhatallowshis performance thatarticulatesa21st-centuryglobalconsciousnessandincludestheminoritarian grant-bound associations” (2009:45). This translationofaparticularman’sexperienceinto common toall, regardlessofone’sraceornationality, andtherebyremovesitfromitsimmi- observes inZeroDegrees where, “Khan constructsthediasporaasatransientglobalcondition, also somespectatorswhoidentifyaswhite. This strategyissimilartowhatMitrainsightfully Banes, Sally. 2001. “Our Hybrid Tradition.” InDanse:langage propre etmétissage culturel/Dance: Distinct Banerji, Anurima. 2009. “An IntimateEthnography.” Women andPerformance 19, 1:35–60. Ballard, Roger. 2007. “Introduction: The EmergenceofDeshPardesh.”Pardesh:South Asian InDesh The Anzaldúa, Gloria. 1987. Borderlands/La Frontera: The NewMestiza. SanFrancisco: Aunt LuteBooks. References they allkeepmoving. the rasikaswanderbackontostreet, somearetouched andsomearestoic, but, like Akram, mate appreciation of one whoseesDeshwillempathizewith Akram. A globalrasikamaybepredisposed toaninti- facilitates examinationofcomplexidentitiesbasedonshared experience. Ofcourse, notevery- voyeur seekingtoconsumedifference. A processofcorporeal translationisatworkinDeshthat familiar with, canaccessglobalmainstagesinwaysthat escapethescopicregimeoftourist- by particularhistories, languages, andsymbolsthatmany audiencemembersmightnotbe the waysinwhichculturallyspecificartisticlanguagesandautobiographies, whichareframed “cultural broker” (Szasz1994), mediatingbetweenhisworldsanddisparatepeoples. At issueare expectation isshapedbythesocialvectorsofrace, ethnicity, class, gender, etc. highly individualizedexperienceforeachandeveryrasika. Iassertthateachrasika’shorizonof performance isideallyaimedtowardsastateoftranscendentconsciousness. Itisnonethelessa spectatorship asafullsensorialexperience. IntheIndianviewofnatya, theexperienceofrasain about themselves. with theinteractionsandruminationsthroughwhichtheytellthemselves(andothers)stories ways thatbecomeentangledwithwhattheyexperienceinthemomentand, aftertheshow, self thatheallowsspectatorsthepossibilitytoprocesstheirownmemoriesandsentimentsin familiarity overdistancedappraisalforhisrasikas. Itisbecause Akram appearstorevealhim- as-dancer withhis “real” body-as-selfchargestheperformancewithapresencethataffirms to thatofaninsider, almostlikeaconfidant. Thecollusionof Akram’sperformativebody- what areofferedastheprivateworldsofartist, thespectator’sroleisshiftedfromobserver edges exoticismevenasitresistsreadyconsumption. Furthermore, heiscommittedtoapostcolonialstrategyofnon-translatabilitythatacknowl- autobiography inopen-endedimagesthatreachaudiencescomposedofvariousconstituencies. Orientalizing gaze. Akram fostersmultiplemodesofviewingbygroundingthespecificityhis tion hasbeentoidentify, name, andaccountformultiplemodesofspectatorshipthatescapethe theatre. Infocusingonwhatthisentailsinaparticularinterculturalperformance, myinten- viduals tothesocialinongoingtaskofmakingsenseworldbothandout My interestistolocatespectatorshipasanactivityshapedbystructuresoffeelingthatlinkindi- Rasikas Inviting All By presentinginterculturalworkthatacknowledgesmultipleconstituencies, Akram actsasa This intersectspowerfullywiththeprinciplesoftraditionalIndianpracticesthatconfigure Desh constructsanintimacytheartistwelcomesspectatorstoshare. Inbeingmadeprivyto Language andCross-Cultural Influences, editedbyChantalPontbriand, 21–30. Montreal:Parachute. Presence inBritain, editedbyRogerBallard, 1–34. London:CHurst&CoPublishers Ltd. Desh, but there are no guarantees. Nevertheless, when theshow is over and Global Rasikas 33 , October. Accessed 5 March 2014. www Accessed 5 March 2014. October. , Dance Magazine 36, 3 (T135): TDR 36, Another Look at Peter Brook.” : Mahabharatas

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