Akram Khan told the Daily Echo: “Creating at The Grange provided an extraordinary environment to gather the creative team and make the most of our time with the stage, working on set, lights, music, dance and dramaturgy. It enabled us to work in unison, to focus, grow and develop, thanks to the creative energy of this unique space, truly inspiring.”

The Akram Khan Residency underlines The Grange Festival’s plans to make dance a central pillar of the main festival’s season, and to become a key destination for major international artists. Michael Chance, Artistic Director of The Grange Festival, said: “The creative energy currently in force on stage at The Grange is inspiring. Akram Khan and company are developing their new world touring production in our theatre, getting us all in the zone for our first in-house foray into dance and ballet in 2018, when Wayne McGregor and Ed Watson open our Festival with a brand new couture sequence. The theatre in Arcadia at The Grange is host to world-class opera and dance, a veritable Delphi for the performing arts. It is so good to see that stage come alive in the dark months as well as the midsummer. A dream.”