Zahak, the Serpent King

Arash Khakpour is a dancer and choreographer from Tehran and based in Vancouver. He’s privileged to be a dance artist who has immigrated to the unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territories. In his work, he investigates the complexities of the human experience; how thoughts influence the body and vice versa; what it means and feels to simply be a body on stage. He has an endless desire to learn about and with other artists; to see whether live performance can be a meeting place of histories, where the body can consider alternate ways of being and feeling through creation and re-creation. He tends to invest in the nuances of prejudices in the body as a way of inviting the unconscious to the conscious, and as a doorway to confront unknown emotions. He sees dance as a process of physical, emotional and spiritual discovery and a mode of transformation. As a first-generation immigrant, he continuously considers what healing I can bring to the land and communities he works with. He’s interested in building a culture of relationality and reciprocity that celebrates the multiplicity of presences and approaches. In the past two years, he has created two solo performances, co-created a full-length duet and an ensemble piece. He looks forward to creating two new pieces this coming year: Zahak, the Serpent King in collaboration with his brother Aryo and a new ensemble dance piece called Empty-Handed. // Photo by Iman Emadian.