'What you cannot imagine': Spirituality in Akram Khan's Vertical Road

This article considers the interface between artistic and spiritual inquiry through an examination of Vertical Road (2010), an ensemble performance work by the British contemporary choreographer Akram Khan. Khan is well known for his cross-cultural explorations, critical appreciation of which has tended to focus on the hybrid nature of his movement vocabulary and aesthetic. This article considers the intercultural nature of his work in terms of the ideas, beliefs and values that it embodies. In particular it examines Vertical Road in relation to some key tenets of contemporary progressive spirituality. It suggests that Vertical Road provides a poetic and insightful reflection on our contemporary spiritual condition.