On earth dances is a physical, joyfulform of expression and communication. It is, in a way the worlds most basic common language. Well, my guest today epitomises the ability of dance to cross borders of time and space. Akram khan is british by birth, bangladeshi by Family Heritage and now globally renowned as one of the great contemporary dancers and choreographers. His performances weave together influences from east and west, past and present, how would he define his dance . Akram khan, welcome to hardtalk. Thank you, welcome. It seems to me so many of the great professional dancers have been raised in one very strict discipline, one cultural tradition, but that isnt quite true of you, is it . No. I was born and brought up in london, so already i was exposed to many, many different cultural activities from very, very different backgrounds. But, my mother wanted me to learn something from her roots and not just language because language was very crucial to her, because of the independ