Akram Khan's DESH Kicks Off Dance Events Tonight at Lincoln Center's White Light Festival

The fourth edition of Lincoln Center's White Light Festival (now through November 23, 2013) is highlighted by appearances by internationally-renowned dance artists Akram Khan and the Mark Morris Dance Group. Khan will dance the U.S. premiere of his acclaimed solo DESH, tonight, November 6 and tomorrow, November 7 in the Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center. The Mark Morris Dance Group offers its sublime, evening-length L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato in three performances-November 21, 22, and 23-at the David H. Koch Theater.

London based choreographer/dancer Akram Khan created DESH (Bengali for "homeland") in 2011. Featuring intricate scenic elements by Tim Yip, the designer for Ang Lee's award-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Khan mines his relationship with his father and his Bangladeshi heritage as jumping off points to explore universal themes of childhood and memory and the search to know oneself. Khan's company work Vertical Road was presented as part of last year's White Light Festival.

Mark Morris' luminous L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, set to Handel's glorious oratorio, is one of the most beloved dance works of our time. The Mark Morris Dance Group will be joined by the MMDG Music Ensemble, vocal soloists and the Riverside Choral Society Chamber Singers, led by conductor Nicholas McGegan, for this engagement. The White Light Festival performances mark the 25th anniversary of L'Allegro's premiere at Brussels' Théâtre de la Monnaie. The final performance, on November 23, which also closes the Festival, takes place 25 years to the day of its first performance in 1988.

Tickets for both dance presentations and all White Light Festival performances are available online at WhiteLightFestival.org, by calling CenterCharge, 212-721-6500, or at the Avery Fisher or Alice Tully Hall box offices, Broadway and 65th Street.

The White Light Festival's focus is the power of art to illuminate the many dimensions of our interior lives. Spanning a range of musical traditions, genres, and disciplines, the 2013 Festival offers 23 performances, films and events, with seven premieres and debuts by artists and companies from more than a dozen countries, including France, India, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, the U.K., Mali, Estonia, Italy, Austria, Canada and the U.S. New to this edition of the Festival is White Light on Film, film screenings followed by discussions with their directors. Other Festival components include a panel discussion on the subject of time, pre- and post-performance artist discussions, and the White Light Lounges.

Performances are set for Wednesday, November 6, 2013 at 7:30 pm and Thursday, November 7, 2013 at 7:30 pm in the Rose Theater, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street. DESH (U.S. premiere) - Akram Khan, director, choreographer, and performer; Tim Yip, visual design; Jocelyn Pook, composer; Michael Hulls, lighting design.

Celebrated choreographer Akram Khan revisits Lincoln Center with the U.S. premiere of DESH, winner of the U.K.'s 2012 Olivier Award for Best Dance Work. Called "The most beautiful and confident work of his career" (The Guardian, London) when it premiered at Sadler's Wells in 2011, DESH was inspired by Khan's parents' homeland of Bangladesh. It is the London-based choreographer's first full-length solo piece and stands as a very personal exploration. To research the work, he took his talented creative team-including composer Jocelyn Pook (Eyes Wide Shut film score) and Tim Yip (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon production design)-to Bangladesh to "live, smell, eat, drink, and sleep Bangladesh," said Khan in a Sadler's Wells program interview. "Bangladesh is, for me, man against nature. Constantly under threat with water, the cyclones and flooding. And yet they find new ways to live amongst the monster...that's something that really inspired me." With DESH, Khan also confronts our collective, universal frailty in the face of forces beyond our control, mining the dreams and stories that help us to survive and grow.

Akram Khan combines elements of modern and kathak dance to create boundary-crossing works that challenge conventional ideas of traditional dance. In addition to company works that have featured collaborations with the National Ballet of China and the London Sinfonietta, he has also created pieces for the Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche, the internationally-acclaimed ballerina Sylvie Guillem, and was chosen to choreograph and perform a section of the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the International Society for the Performing Arts Distinguished Artists Award and The Age Critics' Award. Khan first brought his company to White Light Festival 2012 for the N.Y. premiere of Vertical Road, a work that won the UK's 12th Critic's National Dance Award for Best Modern Choreography.www.akramkhancompany.net

There will be a post-performance discussion with Akram Khan and Stanford Makishi of the Asian Cultural Council on November 6 in the Rose Theater.

White Light Lounge: Audience members are invited to mingle and enjoy a glass of wine immediately following the performance on November 7.

White Light Festival is a presentation of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) which serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA offers 15 series, festivals, and programs including American Songbook, Avery Fisher Artist Program, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Books, Lincoln Center Dialogue, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Lincoln Center Vera List Art Project, Midsummer Night Swing, Martin E. Segal Awards, Meet the Artist, Mostly Mozart Festival, Target Free Thursdays, and the White Light Festival, as well as the Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and the 11 resident organizations. In addition, LCPA led a $1.2 billion campus renovation, completed in October 2012.

Lincoln Center is committed to providing and improving accessibility for people with disabilities. For information, call the Department of Programs and Services for People with Disabilities at (212) 875-5375.

Programs, artists and prices are subject to change.

Facebook: facebook.com/LincolnCenterNYC

Twitter: twitter.com/lincolncenter

Tumblr: lincolncenter.tumblr.com

Photo Credit: Richard Haughton