“Without the past, there is no future; we must honor and protect our traditions to ensure their survival.”—Akram Khan
By Lavina Melwani, New York
All Photos: Courtesy Productions Sarfati
Akram khan’s dance-theatre production Gigenis was inspired by the Mahabharata, in particular the story of Queen Gandhari who had a hundred sons (see sidebar next page for a summary of the story). The name Gigenis combines Greek roots meaning “earth” and “birth,” or “origin,” and can be understood as “earth-born” or “generation of the Earth.” The title reflects the ancient, mythic scale of the story and its deep connection to human origins, loss and legacy.
I was personally amazed by the individual performances. Each dancer engages in the dance form they specialize in. Kapila Venu, who plays the mother and narrates the story, is a doyenne of the oldest theater style, Kutiyattam, while her two sons are played by Mavin Koo, adept at Bharatanatyam, and Akram Khan, who is a strong Kathak performer. All seven dancers—including Bharatanatyam dancers Mythili Prakash, Vijna Vasudevan and Renjith Babu, and Odissi dancer Sirikalyani Adkoli—enact the powerful story with live music of original compositions, as well as traditional folk tunes and a lyric and composition by Rabindranath Tagore.
“The ensemble dancing throughout creates fascinating patterns, and the performers apply their great skills in perfect synchronization,” wrote Stuart Sweeney in the CriticalDance blog. “Khan has amalgamated beautiful, classical Indian dance and music with state-of-the-art production and Western dance formations.”
There are no ornate stage sets, no flashy costumes—yet without a single bullet being shot or a cannon being fired, you are in the depths of a terrible war, a mighty epic battle worthy of the Mahabharata. In the stark surroundings, you can see it, smell it, hear it and feel yourself on the battlefield of life.
The past lives on in the present—but do we learn from our mistakes? As the globe faces many challenges currently, are we set to repeat the errors of our ancestors? Gigenis comes at an apt time and through music and dance makes us meditate on good and evil, the challenges we face as human beings.
Indian classical dance is alive and well, but in Akram Khan’s language of movement, Kathak, Bharatanatyam and Odissi all converse with contemporary dance through stomping footwork and hand gestures from ancient memory. He shows that dialogue between the past and the present is not only possible but also powerful.
Gigenis had its world premiere in August 2024 at the Grand Theater de Provence in France, then traveled to Singapore, London, Paris, New York, Santa Barbara and Washington D.C. This year it continued its world journey, including to the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center in Mumbai.
The Man and His Vision
Akram Khan is a famed dancer and choreographer who has revolutionized the world of dance by weaving tradition and contemporary forms to creatively interpret stories and draw you into thinking about them. A master of Kathak and contemporary dance, he weaves these forms into innovative movement narratives. In Gigenis, he collaborates with an ensemble of six renowned artists of Indian classical dance and seven live Indian classical musicians.
Transcending time and civilizations, Khan’s productions tend to be dark, with minimal lighting. As he explains: “My work is often complex with intricate movement and large-scale ensemble work so sometimes it feels necessary to strip things back. In a sense, I am inviting audiences to truly connect with the performance.”
As a Kathak dancer living in the West merging different dance forms, Khan says growing up in a Bangladeshi community in London naturally shaped his “voice.”
“For many years, I avoided the Indian classical dance world because I felt I wasn’t fully accepted. Deep down I was hurt by that, but I also understand why. I was born and raised in England, and my style is different. I recognize that my language is not pure, but when I see the artists in Gigenis, I really feel I can appreciate the forms in their purest, most traditional sense.”
How does he find the experience of working with six classical dancers and seven musicians from the country that birthed classical Indian dance? “It’s deeply moving to bring this work back to the place where these traditions came from. Gigenis is a profound tribute to the past and a celebration of our shared love for dance, while also responding to the growing endangerment of these traditions.”
He says working on stage with these artists is a testament to their shared humanity. “Really, it has been such an enlightening experience. Each artist has brought so much depth of tradition and discipline, and I feel deeply humbled to have witnessed this up close. There’s a real sense of honoring what’s come before, but also a shared excitement for discovering new ways of telling stories through our respective forms.”
Khan has collaborated with numerous global artists through his distinguished career, celebrating both Kathak and contemporary dance, so what aspect has brought him the most joy? His answer shows that dance is a continuing story, that even masters are always students in some respects: “The greatest joy for me comes from the process of learning—letting go of one’s ego and fully surrendering to the unknown. The exchange that unfolds in the studio, surrounded by my collaborators, whether through movement, ideas or cultural perspectives, is fascinating.”
What are the biggest threats to age-old classical Indian dance today, and how can they be addressed? “I often say that without the past there is no future. We must honor and protect our traditions to ensure their survival. These practices are like endangered species. Classical dancers are sometimes made to feel they are working in an old style. If they don’t do something contemporary, then they are not valuable or relevant. But when something is beautiful for me, that is truth—whether it’s classical or contemporary. There is real beauty in timelessness.”
He speaks of how Indian dance can contribute to Western dance forms. “Indian classical dance is deeply rooted in rituals and storytelling—things that are often hard to explain but carry great depth. In the West, there’s pressure on young South Asian dancers to remove those elements in order to make their work more abstract and accessible. But in doing so, something vital is lost.”
Mavin Khoo, Dancer
Khoo says it was not challenging to adapt to Akram Khan’s vision. “I think all of us are very confident in our identities, in our solo practices and in what we do. So, this was a chance to experience what it would be like to be in his world. We were confident enough about what we do in our world. So collectively, there was a very, very beautiful sense of no ego in the space, and everyone really being open to the unknown and eager to experience what it would be like to not know what would happen, but just to dive into it.”
Is Indian classical dance evolving enough to remain relevant in a globalized world? “It is absolutely relevant. It may not seem relevant in the context of this globalized Western identity and values, but what I’m very proud about in Gigenis is that it was convincing, clear and unapologetic in being un-Western in its politics, un-Western in its theme.”As Khoo points out, Gigenis is absolutely unapologetic about being about storytelling that is definitely Indian. And it is incredibly relevant to today’s world that Ginenis comes across as a work with a politics that is poetically present, delivered with poetry and metaphor.
Gigenis is so relevant because even today the human race is about family, love and conflict. He says, “I think the message that we hope audiences take away from the Gigenis is the idea of love, death and the complexity of family. We have always said that the work is inspired by the Mahabharata, and really it is the dynamics of family.”
Sirikalyani Adkoli, Dancer
How challenging was it to adapt to Akram Khan’s style? Sirikalyani Adkoli shared, “The brilliance of Akram’s vision and his direction made a place for the Odissi form in the production. The real challenge was in adapting my body to the choreography in the group works, which is clearly different from Odissi’s fluidity. His movements are more full range, with sudden shifts in different directions. I had to learn to move my body differently, relearn the capabilities of my own body. The constant shift between Odissi and contemporary forms felt rather natural to my body after months of practice. Equally, if not more challenging was dancing alongside the masters and sharing the floor with them.”
Each classical dance form has unique storytelling methods: dramatic expression in Bharatanatyam, fluidity in Odissi and the rigorous rhythms in kathak. How do these styles interact in Gigenis? “I think Akram designed the production to flow with our traditional styles. Each of us brought our individual pieces to the production. I feel it’s the musical orchestration that binds our artistry together. There is never any compromise of one dance form over another.”
Adkoli believes that Gigenis is about loss, understanding and therefore dealing with loss: “Akram says that we as humans are trained to believe in the existence of something only when we see it. He draws from Indian mythology, which says that it’s the belief that enables one to see. So, in times of hopelessness, it is important to believe in hope, so that hope can manifest. I hope young people in the audience also see that youth is very brief, and that they should make the most of it in this ever-changing violence-inflicted world.”
BC MANJUNATH—Percussion
“I think the live music is one of the essential parts of Gigenis, Manjunath observed. “This project evolved with choreography and music amongst dancers and musicians trying a lot of things out again and again. Also, in every show there will be some change to make the flow better. We all know how Akram works with his fast-thinking capacity. The narrative is always fine-tuned and musicians are always there to execute it either to elongate or shorten some parts. Experienced musicians adapt naturally to this.”
Manjunath had thoughtful ideas on adapting classical Indian music to contemporary choreographic interpretations. “For me, contemporary is actually classical art form dealt in the present-day format fitting to the new rational ideas that an artiste thinks about.
“Without the help of traditional/classical knowledge it might be difficult to stay in the scene for so long. But the bottom line is that artists should be ready to adapt and ‘break some rules.’ Of course, people who break rules do so consciously with deep-rooted knowledge in their respective field. And all the artistes here are super adaptable and also hungry to try out new things.”
He added, “If we start with a specific raga or tala and then get stuck in certain preconceived ideas, it does not allow us to really indulge in something new that we are trying to search for together.”
HARIRAM LAAM—Violin & Viola
Hariram Laam says the beauty of live music (especially given the spontaneous nature of Indian Classical music) is that it gives us room to vary some of our musical ideas without deviating or distracting you from the main focus. While the music for the entire production has been composed and set according to the narrative, there is space for minute changes and development: “We musicians are therefore in position to respond to those changes on the go. And because it’s a live performance, you are immediately absorbed into the ambient nature of the production, which one would and should experience.
“While classical music is rooted in tradition, it would be entirely false to say that it has not undergone immense change and development. Thanks to the contribution of revolutionary artists of each time period, classical music to date remains an art form that is constantly being studied, explored and updated. In this production, while the majority of us are practitioners of Indian Classical art forms, the narrative takes precedence. So, rather than confining ourselves to a particular genre, we have all drawn on our expertise and mediums to tell the story, even if that meant breaking away from what we are most familiar with.”
A Union of Past and Present
Each dancer had prepared their respective items, including pre-composed pieces that they had workshopped and arranged to suit the narrative. Aside from that, every other piece was an original composition, and the inspiration came from various cultures. Although each dance form was distinct in its own way, a conscious decision was made to develop a sound that would fit across all the items while preserving the originality of the dance form. The result is an amalgamation of multiple genres designed to appeal to all kinds of audiences, say the musicians.
Laam shared, “It feels incredibly special to bring this particular production to India—it wouldn’t feel complete without doing so. This work is deeply personal and connects to my roots, but there are also universal themes that everyone can relate to—love, loss, despair and innocence. Akram tries to show us a way forward through dance and music, especially as the world goes through difficult times. Right now, I feel a deep urgency, a strong conviction that we have collectively lost touch with nature, with Mother Earth, and with the ancient myths that once guided us. I hope this work encourages a return to listening to those who are deeply rooted in nature and carry both the ancient wisdom and the future potential of this Earth.”
Gigenis: A Review
By Cecly Placenti, New York
A woman emerges out of the darkness, slashing her arms with brutal force as if fighting an unseen adversary. Sounds of crashing thunder accompany her ferocity. With a terrifying grimace she reaches down and pulls invisible entrails from her slain foe and holds them to her face. This gruesome scene is the opening to Akram Khan’s Gigenis: The Generation of the Earth. The work is inspired by the Mahabharata, the Indian epic tale in which Queen Gandhari, portrayed by Kapila Venu, loses her sons in a war brought about by their own ambition.
An impeccable storyteller who both directs and performs in his adaptation, Khan tells this tale of seductive power and cyclical violence through the lens of a mother’s grief. Known primarily for his work in contemporary forms, Khan returns to his roots in Indian classical dance with Gigenis. Trained in Kathak, he gathers expert dancers and musicians adept in Bharatanatyam and Odissi for this production, directing an ensemble of artists from the classical tradition for the first time in his career.
Following its brutal beginning, the narrative turns briefly to happier times. The wedding blessing of a man and woman evolves into solos, trios and ensemble dancing that portray young love and maturation, then discord and divide. Scenes from Gandhari’s past flow by with seamless transitions as Venu, an intensely powerful performer, mirrors each dancer, echoing their movements alongside them, ghost-like, as if remembering. Her intensity—bulging eyes, glowering lips, carving arms that push the air as if it weighs a ton—holds the entire audience in a silent concentration I have rarely witnessed or experienced at a dance performance.
After their father the king dies, Khan and Khoo fight over the crown until one kills the other, the action overlaid by a soft female voice narrating: “In another time, I was a daughter, then a wife, then a mother.” The tragedy unfolding on stage is magnified by the score and haunting vocalizations of the onstage musicians. Melodies float and overlap and the drummers drive a ceaseless momentum. The sound is dramatic, meditative, roaring and sensitive all at once.
Sounds of war—loud booms and crashes—interrupt calmer tones as the score repeatedly rises to a crescendo, arrests in moments of silence, and repeats, mimicking the cyclic nature of life itself, full of pain and joy. Gigenis leaves us considering the harrowing aspects of existence as it closes. “This is not war,” the narrator says. “This is the end of the world. And again, I am alone.”
Originally published on The Dance Enthusiast, a moving arts project: https://nall.ai/gigenis. Used with permission.
About The Author
Lavina Melwani is a New York-based journalist who has written on the arts, spirituality and life for several international publications. She reports on the Indian diaspora for The Week and is a co-founder of Children’s Hope India. She blogs at www.lassiwithlavina.com. You can follow her @lassi_with_lavina