A dancer and choreographer described as one of the most visionary artists of his generation, whose company is regarded as one of the most innovative in the world. A boundary-breaking actor, director and activist celebrated for a fearless approach to theatre-making and creating a space for diverse voices to be heard. And a singer-songwriter who achieved a cult following and critical acclaim after her music was rediscovered.

Three pioneering artists will be celebrated alongside the class of 2024 at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s summer graduation.

Artistic director, choreographer and dancer Akram Khan MBE; actor, theatre director, activist and RCS drama alumnus Ivan Heng and musician Vashti Bunyan will receive honorary doctorates on Thursday 4 July.

Artistic director, choreographer and dancer Akram Khan MBE; actor, theatre director, activist and RCS drama alumnus Ivan Heng and musician Vashti Bunyan will receive honorary doctorates on Thursday 4 July.

Award-winning choreographer and dancer Akram Khan is one of the world’s most celebrated and respected dance artists. Acclaimed for his dance language rooted in the ancient Indian dance Kathak, his reputation has been built on the success of imaginative and highly accessible productions including Jungle Book reimagined, Outwitting the Devil, XENOS and Until the Lions.

Previous collaborators include the actress Juliette Binoche, ballerina Sylvie Guillem, singer Kylie Minogue, indie rock band Florence and the Machine, visual artist Anish Kapoor, writer Hanif Kureishi and composers Steve Reich, Nitin Sawhney, Jocelyn Pook and Ben Frost.

Artistic director, choreographer and dancer Akram Khan MBE; actor, theatre director, activist and RCS drama alumnus Ivan Heng and musician Vashti Bunyan will receive honorary doctorates on Thursday 4 July.

Award-winning choreographer and dancer Akram Khan is one of the world’s most celebrated and respected dance artists. Acclaimed for his dance language rooted in the ancient Indian dance Kathak, his reputation has been built on the success of imaginative and highly accessible productions including Jungle Book reimagined, Outwitting the Devil, XENOS and Until the Lions.

Previous collaborators include the actress Juliette Binoche, ballerina Sylvie Guillem, singer Kylie Minogue, indie rock band Florence and the Machine, visual artist Anish Kapoor, writer Hanif Kureishi and composers Steve Reich, Nitin Sawhney, Jocelyn Pook and Ben Frost.

Ivan Heng is celebrated for boundary-breaking theatre work that reflects our contemporary concerns and gives voice to the marginalised.

He is a passionate advocate for respect for diversity and freedom of expression. Ivan founded the internationally acclaimed Wild Rice theatre company in 2000.

Under his leadership, the company has reached out to an audience of more than a million people and is at the vanguard of creating theatre with a distinctive Singaporean voice. The company built its iconic theatre in 2019, and its award-winning works have toured worldwide.

Vashti Bunyan is a singer and songwriter who wanted to bring acoustic music into mainstream pop in the mid-60s.

When she didn’t find the success she’d hoped for, she walked away from music completely. She was rediscovered in 2000 after the re-release of her 1970 album, Just Another Diamond Day, which has become a cult classic.

After a gap of 35 years, her second album Lookaftering, produced by Max Richter, was released to critical acclaim. Vashti then produced and recorded Heartleap in her own studio and has since performed all over the world.

Since then, Vashti has written and recorded two more albums – 2005’s Lookaftering, produced by the composer Max Richter, and 2014’s Heartleap, produced and recorded by herself in her own studio.

Both albums have been well received and she has since toured the UK, Europe, USA, Australia and Japan.  In 2022, her autobiography Wayward: Just Another Life to Live was published by White Rabbit.

The trio will join around 300 students who will graduate across music, drama, dance, production, film and education at Scotland’s national conservatoire, named one of the world’s top ten destinations to study the performing and production arts in the QS World University Rankings in March.

Professor Jeffrey Sharkey, Principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, said: “Akram Khan, Ivan Heng and Vashti Bunyan are three visionary artists who are being recognised for their exceptional contributions to the world of music, dance and theatre and the unique artistic imprints they have made on arts and culture.

“Their honorary doctorates acknowledge their incredible accomplishments and hope to inspire our graduating students, the next generation of artists, to push the boundaries of creativity.”

Akram Khan

Akram Khan is one of the world’s most celebrated and respected dance artists. In just over 23 years, he has created a body of work that has contributed significantly to the arts in the UK and abroad.

His reputation has been built on the success of imaginative, highly accessible and relevant productions including Jungle Book reimagined, Outwitting the Devil, XENOS, Until the Lions, Kaash, Gnosis and zero degrees.

Previous collaborators include the National Ballet of China, actress Juliette Binoche, ballerina Sylvie Guillem, singer Kylie Minogue, indie rock band Florence and the Machine, visual artists Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley and Tim Yip, writer Hanif Kureishi and composers Steve Reich, Nitin Sawhney, Jocelyn Pook and Ben Frost.

As a choreographer, Akram has developed a close collaboration with English National Ballet. He created the short piece Dust, part of the Lest We Forget programme, which led to an invitation to create his own critically acclaimed version of the iconic romantic ballet Giselle.

Described by the Financial Times as an artist “who speaks tremendously of tremendous things”, a highlight of his career was the creation of a section of the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony that was received with unanimous acclaim.

He has been the recipient of numerous awards throughout his career including the Laurence Olivier Award, the Bessie Award (New York Dance and Performance Award), the prestigious ISPA (International Society for the Performing Arts) Distinguished Artist Award, the Fred and Adele Astaire Award, the Herald Archangel Award at the Edinburgh International Festival, the South Bank Sky Arts Award and eight Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards.

Akram was awarded an MBE for services to dance in 2005.

Ivan Heng

Ivan Heng is one of Singapore’s most prominent and dynamic creative personalities. In a pioneering career spanning close to four decades, Ivan has directed, acted in and designed many landmark Singapore theatre productions, which have been performed in more than 20 cities around the world.

In 1990, when Glasgow was European City of Culture, Ivan was the first recipient of the prestigious BAT Arts Scholarship to train at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

He graduated in 1993, winning the Royal Lyceum Theatre Award and Margaret Gordon Prize for his portrayal of Shakespeare’s Richard III as well the Dorothy Innes Prize for outstanding studentship. Ivan made his UK directorial debut in Edinburgh, winning the Scotsman Fringe First as well as the Scottish Daily Express New Names of ’93 award.

Thereafter, he moved to London where he worked in film, television and radio, and founded the award-winning Tripitaka Theatre Company. In 1998, after touring extensively throughout Europe, Ivan returned to Singapore to contribute to Singapore’s nascent arts scene.

Ivan founded Wild Rice in 2000. Under his leadership, the company has reached out to an audience of more than a million people and is at the vanguard of creating theatre with a distinctive Singaporean voice. Its theatre complex opened in September 2019 with a mission to create and present the best of Singapore theatre, nurture young artists and audiences, and leave a legacy of artistic excellence for generations to come.

Ivan was the Creative Director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the inaugural Youth Olympic games in Singapore in 2010.

In 2013, Ivan was awarded the Cultural Medallion, Singapore’s highest cultural honour. He was awarded the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in June 2023 by the French Government. He has a law degree from the National University of Singapore.

Vashti Bunyan

Vashti Bunyan’s story tells of the thwarted promise of early fame, disenchantment, long-term exile and eventual rediscovery. Despite a promising beginning in the 1960s (signing with the manager of the Rolling Stones to become a pop star at 19 and releasing a first single written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards), she didn’t find the success she’d hoped for with her own songs, always wanting to bring acoustic music into mainstream pop.

She soon abandoned music and set out on a journey from London with her then partner, her dog and a horse and cart, heading for the dream of a creative colony that their friend, the singer Donovan, was setting up on the Isle of Skye.

Vashti wrote the songs for the album, Just Another Diamond Day, during this two-year-long journey, and recorded it in 1969 with the producer Joe Boyd, but the songs once more struggled to find an audience.

After this second disappointment, she gave up on music. She didn’t touch her guitar for 30 years until she discovered via the internet that her album had acquired a cult following over the decades. Vashti then found a way to get back the rights, leading to Just Another Diamond Day being re-released in 2000 to a more welcoming audience. (The Observer Music Monthly placed it at 53 in their ‘Top 100 British albums’.

Since then, Vashti has written and recorded two more albums – 2005’s Lookaftering, produced by the composer Max Richter, and 2014’s Heartleap, produced and recorded by herself in her own studio.

Both albums have been well received and she has since toured the UK, Europe, USA, Australia and Japan. In 2022, her autobiography Wayward: Just Another Life to Live was published by White Rabbit.