In Akram Khan’s latest work, the past and present unite and embrace.

Past and present converge in Thikra: Night of Remembering, the latest production from Akram Khan Company. Created in collaboration with award-winning visual artist Manal AlDowayan, it takes us on a journey through tradition to honour our ancestors, deeply rooted in the power of ritual.

Thikra draws inspiration from the ancient landscape, mythology and cultural heritage of AlUla, the ancient Arab city on the spice incense route that linked India, Arabia and Europe. Akram Khan and Manal AlDowayan explore the landscape’s richly diverse culture along with sacred practices from around the world to reflect on our contemporary existence, paying homage to those who came before us.

Thikra features original music and soundscape design by Aditya Prakash, sound design by Gareth Fry, lighting design by Zeynep Kepekli, dramaturgy by Blue Pieta, and an all-female international cast of contemporary and Bharatanatyam dancers. Together, these creative voices invite us to reflect on the rituals that shape our shared humanity. “Without a past,” Akram Khan says, “there is no future.”

Akram Khan (Jungle Book Reimagined, Gigenis) is one of the most original and celebrated choreographers of international dance, and an Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells. Manal AlDowayan’s work is in the collections of the British Museum, Centre Pompidou and Guggenheim, and she represented Saudi Arabia in the 60th Venice Biennale.

Commissioned by Wadi AlFann, Valley of the Arts, AlUla

Primary Co-producing Partner Bagri Foundation

Indoor adaptation co-produced by Berliner Festspiele, Brown Arts Institute at Brown University, Montpellier Danse Festival, Pina Bausch Zentrum, Sadler’s Wells, Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Théâtre de la Ville Paris

Supported by Arts Council England

Header image description: A large group of female performers, with their arms raised near their faces. They are all wearing grey robes except one in the centre who is wearing a dark pink robe. They all lean in different directions, faces looking up. There are 10 performers visible in the group, but there may be many more standing behind.

Header image © Camilla Greenwell