Akram Khan and Israel Galván begin their new duet sitting on the edge of a large circle of light, a circle that throughout the evening will often have the feel of a gladiatorial space – a wrestling ring or most often a bullring.
There was never any question that a collaboration between these two superlative artists would feel as much like a duel as a duet. And, as they begin trading and competing their respective kathak and flamenco styles, that duelling often proves ferocious.
Stamping out a dialogue of percussive rhythms – Khan barefoot with jangling ankle bells, Galván in heeled flamenco shoes – the two men look as though they won’t give up until one of them falls, exhausted, to the floor. They circle each other, arms whirling, foreheads pressed together, hands sometimes clamped over the other’s mouth to silence their chanting voices, if not their feet.
But Torobaka is above all a dialogue and exchange of ideas. Khan makes flamenco shoes dance on his hands; Galván allows his whiplash angles to soften into south Asian curves: sometimes the playful weaving of movement through the dancers’ bodies is unrecognisable as anything but a physical conversation, happening in the here and now. The five accompanying musicians create their own compelling hybrid, too; a fusion of Spanish and Indian, with swerving Middle Eastern sonorities that’s like a musical map of the ancient, shared history between the two dance forms.
Torobaka is a far from perfect work. Some of the experimentation feels hyperactive and undigested – such as Galván’s cartoony bird solo and squawking vocal accompaniment. But the level of skill and invention on stage is remarkable, and there are moments when the two dancers, fused together with the music, give that bullring the feel of an inspired space.
• Until 8 November. Box office: 0844-412 4300. Venue: Sadler’s Wells
