Akram Khan’s Thikra opens Baku festival’s dance programme
Akram Khan’s Thikra: Night of Remembering opened the Baku International Arts Festival’s dance programme on October 31. The production combines kathak and contemporary dance, with visual and costume design by Manal AlDowayan. A further performance is scheduled for November 1 at the Azerbaijan State Academic National Drama Theatre.
Arts··Midday
Thikra takes the Baku stage
Choreographer Akram Khan’s Thikra: Night of Remembering opened the dance programme of the Baku International Arts Festival in Azerbaijan on October 31. The performance took place at the Azerbaijan State Academic National Drama Theatre. A second performance at the same venue is scheduled for November 1.[1]
The work also appeared under the title Zikra: A Night of Memories in coverage of its October 31 staging. Khan both directed the production and created its choreography.[1], [2]
Kathak meets contemporary dance
Thikra combines the classical dance form kathak with contemporary dance. Its story imagines women assembling for one night to awaken ancestral spirits. Saudi artist Manal AlDowayan created the visual and costume designs. The work was first performed in January 2025 at Wadi AlFann in the Saudi city of AlUla, before reaching the Baku festival programme.[1]
Dance runs through the festival’s second edition
The festival’s second edition opened on October 28 and continues through November 8. Its dance programme runs from October 31 to November 7. The broader festival includes concerts, theatre, film screenings, meetings with artists and masterclasses. Thikra’s two scheduled dates begin that dance sequence at the National Drama Theatre.[1]
