Farooq (he/him), born in Pakistan, enjoyed an international professional dance career in theeighties and nineties. He was awarded an Asian Achievement Award for his work as a dancer in 1988.

After retiring from dancing in 1999, he completed an MA in Arts Management from CityUniversity. A year later he teamed up with Akram Khan and co-founded Akram KhanCompany. As the company producer, Farooq puts creativity at the heart of his leadershipstyle, forming innovative business models to support Khan’s artistic ambitions. Theirpartnership has made the Company one of the world’s most foremost and successful dancecompanies.

In addition to his work for Akram Khan Company, he has became the International CreativeProducer for China’s national dance icon Yang Liping since January 2016. He was alsoCreative Producer for English National Ballet in October 2013 – 2017, and was instrumentalin supporting Tamara Rojo in shaping her vision.

Farooq is a witness of the School for Social Entrepreneurs. The French Ministry of ForeignAffairs acknowledged him in a list of the world’s top hundred cultural actors andentrepreneurs. He is also on the advisory board of Global Future, an independent think tankcampaigning for Britain to be a vibrant and open nation that reaches out to the world.

Farooq is a regular guest speaker in cultural entrepreneurship including the AdvancedCultural Leadership Programme at Hong Kong University and the London Business School.

He was awarded an honorary doctorate from De Montfort University for his services to dancein 2014.

Early 2019, he was awarded an OBE for his services to dance. And during July 2019, he also became a board member for Tate.