The world-renowned artistic director and choreographer Akram Khan MBE was officially welcomed as the new Chancellor of De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) this week – and passionately called on graduates to be creative, have conviction, be empowered and think outside the box.
Akram Khan MBE is officially made the new Chancellor of DMU
Chancellor Khan, who is one of the most widely celebrated and respected dance artists of the 21st century, received his robes at an inauguration ceremony held during this week’s graduation ceremonies at DMU.
But when it came to making his acceptance speech in front of a 1,000-strong audience of graduands and their families, Akram abandoned his pre-prepared script to share his strong belief that we should ask questions of the things we do not understand and not be afraid to challenge what we are told.
He began saying: “My father would usually say ‘whatever you do, stick to the script’ and, by nature, I would do exactly the opposite, so…”.
Prior to the ceremony, Akram, a DMU alumni - said that it was an emotional day as he had two contrasting feelings. His father had recently passed away and, in the circumstances, his mother had decided not to come along.
His parents had been at his graduation ceremony as well as on the day he received an honorary degree from DMU in 2004. It was the first event relating to the university that he had felt on his own.
Chancellor Khan addresses the graduates and their families at Curve
He also felt incredibly nostalgic and inspired while watching students cross the stage at the Curve theatre where he had held world premieres of some of his work. He had witnessed the mixture of trepidation and excitement on their faces and remembered how he had felt doing the same thing when he graduated in 1998.
Prompting him to praise the parents in the audience, Akram said: “My father passed away five weeks ago so it has been quite challenging for me to be in a public space but I realise how valuable parents are.
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“You are invaluable to the kids here today, to all of us, and we are in debt to you. Without you we could not stand on your shoulders and reach up to the sky.”
Akram went on to tell two stories about experiences that illustrated why you should not be afraid to ask questions and how DMU had taught him such an important lesson.
One involved an inexplicable event in Australia where he had been performing in Sydney Opera House and was trying to catch a taxi home, tired after numerous shows.
The cab was commandeered by a rude couple behind him because they had had assumed he was opening the door for them. When he caught the second taxi, a conversation with his father in Bengali led to the driver revealing he had been looking for Akram's father for 35 years after losing contact. His father and the taxi driver were reunited that minute, using Akram's phone.
Akram is robed by Vice-Chancellor Prof Katie Normington
He said: “For a year after that I could not understand the connection made. I got the second taxi. Not the first one. Some people referred to religion and others to spiritual reasons and scientific reasons. The fact that I could not see the connection but could feel the connection – this sense of trying to understand something you cannot see is what DMU gave me.
“They gave me empowerment and allowed me to question things that not always made sense.”
The second of Akram’s stories involved a journalist who gifted an ancient tribe in the Amazon with a clock after they had saved his life during a previous expedition. The journalist said that he had brought them a clock because in western society it showed the future is ahead of you and the past is behind you.
Excited graduands take their seats before the ceremony starts
But the tribe chief said he saw things differently. The past is in front of you because you can see it. It has happened. While the future is behind you, because you cannot see it.
Akram said: “This story stuck with me because it was about seeing things differently, from the other side. I would like to say to DMU, thank you very much for empowering me to see things differently. I know our generation has done damaging things to the world. This generation has to carry that burden.
“The best advice I can give is think outside of the box. We got it wrong. We can all see that. It is now down to the new generation to be creative, have conviction, be empowered and move forward thinking out of the box.”
You can re-watch Chancellor Khan's full inauguration ceremony and speech here
Posted on Thursday 25 August 2022