We live in past, present and future – Akram Khan’s GIGENIS at The Joyce Theater

By Liana Wilson-Graff

The Joyce brings its Fall ‘24/Winter ‘25 season to a powerful close with Akram Khan’s GIGENIS: The generation of The Earth; an evening length piece that explores the narrative of a woman’s life in all its stages, the enduring power of memory through storytelling and dance, greed, and the enactment and many meanings of tradition. Khan is a renowned contemporary choreographer, having worked for decades creating innovative pieces that continuously make an impact on the state of modern dance. For GIGENIS, Khan’s approach was different from any of his past works, utilizing his practice and heritage of Indian Kathak dance and contemporary movement. Every dancer performing in this piece with Khan, including Kutiyattam artist Kapila Venu, Bharatanatyam soloists Mavin Khoo and Mythili Prakash, Bharatanatyam duo Vijna Vasudevan and Renjith Babu, as well as Nrityagram artist Sirikalyani Adkoli, is a distinguished and sensational practitioner of traditional Indian dance. 

Anyone would be remiss not to mention the musicianship showcased in this piece. GIGENIS’ original music is composed and performed by Jyotsna Prakash, Padmashree Panjak Charan Das, Nina Harries, Hariraam Tingyuan Lam, Muthuswami Dikshitar, B.C. Manjunath, Vallathol Narayana Menon, Sohail Rana, Fayyaz Hashmi, Kalamandalam Rajeev, Rabindranath Tagore, and Akram Khan himself. The music is absolutely astounding and is some of the best live accompaniment to dance I have seen. It is dramatic, intricately layered, booming, and sensitive all at once. It is an incredible sound that makes you want to close your eyes and feel every vibration pulse through your skin and bones. More than once I had to rip my eyes back open so as not to miss a moment of the dance. The unique set, with ample space for dancers and musicians is extremely compelling in itself, and provides great visual and sonic balance. As your eyes wander from dancer, to drummer, to singer, to cellist, there is so much to look at yet no one distracts from one another. 

In this piece memory is a living force that is always happening, again, and again, and again. Sometimes it is torture, and sometimes it is a blessing and euphoric joy. Memory is the string that ties the poignant narrative together, but it is also specifically tied to the movement, in that a large part of GIGENIS has its roots in tradition. It is a danced demonstration of how memory and culture is undoubtedly lived and codified through movement, but at the same time it is, at risk of sounding trite, a simultaneously ephemeral expression. Although ephemerality is discussed in the dance world ad nauseam, there is a reason for that; it is a boundless concept and for those looking to enter the discussion from a very special perspective, GIGENIS is a fantastic way to do it. 

In GIGENIS, memory is channeled at and through all times. It has an endless well of vitality and is sparked in all mediums: negative space around bodies, distant air particles buzzing with the sound of live music, the body’s center, and most strikingly, through hands and eyes. The story of this piece feels particularly resonant with our present, set in what can feel like at times a similar chaos and violence, with a seemingly defined moral compass that becomes more ambiguous and nuanced as the performance goes on. The intensity of this nuance draws the focus back out to context and what forces influence the actors in this story and in our own. GIGENIS is a call to its own characters, to artists, and to humans, to know the power of individual and collective memory, culture, and histories. Khan calls this piece, “an urgent personal response to the endangerment of tradition”. I believe this piece elevates music and dance as a tool for creating change in our present through its power in past, present, and future; it shows us that we exist on each one of these planes ourselves. 

Akram Khan’s GIGENIS: The generation of the Earth is presented by The Joyce Theater Foundation (Linda Shelton, Executive Director) and is playing for five performances only at The Joyce Theater from February 12-16. Tickets, ranging in price from $12-$82 including fees, can be purchased at www.Joyce.org, or by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800. Please note: ticket prices are subject to change. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at West 19th Street. More information