Professor and department chair of World Arts and Cultures/Dance Jay O'Shea spoke with Akram Khan, choreographer and celebrated dance artist, for the Theatre, Dance and Performance Training (TDPT) Blog's special issue on Martial Arts and Training.
Conducted on Zoom between Los Angeles and London, this conversation was an opportunity for Jay and Akram, both practitioners of Brazilian ju-jitsu, to explore the nature of the practice and its relationship to training for performance. This was inspired by the piece written by Akram Khan for the Financial Times in December 2021, "Akram Khan on Brazilian jiu-jitsu and his beautiful midlife crisis...," and suggested by Paul Allain, a co-editor of the special issue.
Watch the video below.