AKRAM KHAN, the British-born wunderkind of Western contemporary dance and the classical Indian dance form kathak, is marking the end of his two-year stint as the Royal Festival Hall’s choreographer-in-residence with Ronin, an exceptionally skilful and entertaining performance. The show also inaugurates his role as RFH associate artist, a first for a non-musician.

The evening begins with a gentle invocation to Shiva choreographed by Khan’s guru, Sri Pratap Pawar. It is Khan’s subtle, actorly qualities as much as his physical beauty that draw us to him. The young, barefoot dancer enters slowly, ankles wrapped in bells, hands reverently cupped and shaven head shining in Aideen Malone’s expert lighting. Melting between poses, Khan seems both sacred and sensual, mortal yet divine. He is an eloquent mime, with just a hint of benevolent animality about him.

Khan humanises the formality of the traditional concert format. A friendly speech introduces the five musicians. Here Khan explains the complex system of beats which propel kathak. For example, he compares the path of a particular time cycle to a mother holding a child who plainly wants to wriggle away from her grasp.

Tabla player Partha Sarathi Mukherjee — a tremendous talent — and Khan obviously derive enormous pleasure onstage together. An improvised session in which Mukherjee first replicates Khan’s verbal and then strictly physical rhythms is breathtaking good fun. Khan’s swiftly thrusting arms slicing into the air as he spirals round his own axis is plain dazzling.

Derived from the Hindu epic The Mahabharata, the actual dance Ronin is an half-hour solo in which Khan embodies the warrior Arjuna in dialogue with the god Krishna. He makes kathak sexy, not in any obvious or overt way. Rather, the appeal lies in his intense focus and exquisitely timed expressivity.

At tomorrow’s final London performance Khan will be joined by the writer Hanif Kureishi and the actor Christopher Simpson.

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