According to Executive and Artistic Director of CAP UCLA, Edgar Miramontes, this particular moment in human history asks us to remember. Remember what it means and has meant to be alive, to make connection across cultures and even generations, to let the body remind us of what the mind has forgotten. This season at CAP UCLA is centered around memory and how it informs the present. Memories living in human tissue today formed by events past but necessary to understand our differences, our connections, our fears, our hopes – and even our failings. This show by Director/Choreographer Akram Khan is an exploration of that memory made manifest in physical ritual. At once arresting and at times sublime, “Thikra: Night of Remembering” unfolds like a spectacular train wreck of emotional and spiritual bodies. This exorcism of memory holds us spellbound for sixty-five minutes and leaves us elated, exhausted, and more aware of ourselves and others.
Akram Khan Company in “Thikra: Night of Remembering” – Photo by Jason Williams, CAP UCLA.
The set was a large rock formation upstage with stairs inset on one side and a cave-like room on the bottom with a platform overhang. There was a great deal of smoke creating a mysterious atmosphere and very low lighting rendering people and shapes into mere shadows and wisps of form. Downstage center was a smaller rock which became central to the action. On top of the platform overlooking all was the barely defined outline of a woman in ceremonial dress. The scene was one of ancient repetition and ancestral knowledge made real. The woman, as she came into view, was seen as the Matriarch of the clan and as such had responsibility towards the other members to facilitate the ritual and convey the lessons it held to the current generation.
Akram Khan Company in “Thikra: Night of Remembering” – Photo by Jason Williams, CAP UCLA.
This was an extremely rich and layered piece of choreography, soundscape, acting, gesture, lighting and visual effects all wrapped up in a grand history lesson for this particular tribe of women. The cast was made up of ten women, all of whom could move in laser-like precision through steps, turns, head rolls, stomping and manipulation of hair. The hair played a large part in the character of the movement and the delineation of the female sex specifically. Whether a lament or ecstatic throw of the head, the hair accented and punctuated the choreography. In the best sense the bodies were quick-stroke painted through the piece like the cave paintings of Lascaux come to life. The performers: Laura Bufano, Amrita Doshi, Ekta Doshi, Shreya Kannan, Mythili Prakash, Nikita Rao, Joy Alpuerto Ritter, Rohini Shetty, Elpida Skourou, Lani Yamanaka. These ten women held us enraptured and on the edge of our seats desperate to know what would happen next. The roles included the Matriarch, mentioned before and the Shaman, whose bodily contortions reminded me of an exorcism, the Vessel who was dragged out from the cave in a drugged state and slowly made to channel all hell to release onto the stage. The other women made up the tribe who must remember and persevere through all that fate has thrown at their ancestors. It must be stated that by the very absence of men we are led to believe, or can at least assume, that they are part of the reason why this ritual must be performed and remembered in perpetuity. “Never Again” seems to be a phrase ironically repeated by humans throughout the ages for a variety of reasons.
Akram Khan Company in “Thikra: Night of Remembering” – Photo by Jason Williams, CAP UCLA.
The movement was rooted in Bharatanatyam with a great deal of modern and contemporary added to the mix. All performers were exact and clean. Every head turn and finger position was clear as much of the tribal choreography was in unison, making a very powerful statement in terms of belonging, social commitment and tribal mores. Through the set pieces and costumes, we were enveloped in a timeless and sacred ritual. Manal AlDowayan as Visual Director/Costumes and Scenography has created a female-centric esthetic that celebrates the power of women in this tribe to hold together this group as a cohesive society. They worship together through communal remembrance and the adherence to observing the sacrifice of elder women through a yearly ritual. This reminded me much of the women in the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and their role in that tribal society. Ignore the female half of any group at your peril.
Akram Khan Company in “Thikra: Night of Remembering” – Photo by Jason Williams, CAP UCLA.
The lighting was low and mysterious. Lighting Designer Zeynep Kepekli created a beautiful atmosphere of supernatural possibility with specific downspots as well as lighting focused below the second wing so that anyone moving upstage simply vanished into the darkness. This was well-done and added to the portrayal of channeling ancient spirits. The soundscape by Composer/Designer Aditya Prakash and Sound Designer Gareth Fry was intense and ever evolving. This aspect of the show was a tour-de-force featuring deep bass and choirs of voices signaling Seraphic benediction or the Seventh Circle of Hell – depending on what the remembrance was at that time. Featured music in the score: “Gyura Beli Belo Platno” by London Bulgarian Choir Directed by Dessislava Stefanova and “The Elephant’s Funeral” by Sushma Soma with Aditya Prakash.
Akram Khan Company in “Thikra: Night of Remembering” – Photo by Jason Williams, CAP UCLA.
It was lovely to see a show that was not afraid of narrative, touching on religion, spirituality, conflict, and growth – however indirect it may have been. Humans are story tellers and stories are embedded in our psyches through hundreds of thousands of years. This was a brilliant nod to that aspect of human existence.
To learn more about Akram Khan and his company, please visit their website.
To learn more about CAP UCLA, please visit their website.
Written by Brian Fretté for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Akram Khan Company in “Thikra: Night of Remembering” – Photo by Jason Williams, CAP UCLA.
