Ahilan Ratnamohan is a choreographer, actor and performance artist. After studying film at Sydney’s University of Technology he pursued a career as a professional footballer in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. This is how he finds himself in Belgium in 2013.
The themes in Ahilan’s work are always rooted in his experience as an emigrated former top athlete: sport and language. His search for the cultural and choreographic potential of football has developed into its own urban dance style called Klapping, connecting communities and non-classically trained dancers. The duality between his native English -not the mother tongue of his Sri Lankan parents- and his time spent living in various places abroad, makes him an expert-by-experience in his own research.
In recent years, Ahilan has performed across Europe as well as in Australia, Brazil and South Africa. His work was shown at festivals such as Kunstenfestivaldesarts (B), Internationales SommerFestival (D), Kampnagel (D), Homo Novus (LT), LIFT (UK), Julidans (NL) and Colomboscope (SRI). He is artist-in-residence at Kaaitheater Brussels and part of the artist collective Robin.
On the 16th of january 2025, The Tamilization of Ahilan Ratnamohan will premiere in Sydney, Australia. It is available for touring in the spring/summer following the premiere and in 2025-2026. More info about this production can be found here.