Renown choreographer and dancer, Akram Khan, 43, was appointed MBE for services to dance in 2005. He has received more Critics' Circle National Dance Awards compared to any other choreographer, and has many other laurels to his name, including the prestigious International Society for the Performing Arts Distinguished Artist Award.
As a child, his ambition was to be a superhero like Superman, Batman or Spider-Man, but they were soon replaced by Michael Jackson, Fred Astaire, and Charlie Chaplin.
Akram felt more comfortable in a studio or on stage compared to being in a classroom. After studying at De Montford University for two years, he transferred to the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.
He has the ambition to create a feature film – something that he is working on right now.
There are many things that drives him and keeps him going. He said, “I love dancing for myself. I love the ritual of training. That's what gets me up in the morning.”
