Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's work had been to New Zealand before, with works like Iets Op Bach and Foi appearing at the Festival previously, but I think Sutra was the first to appear under his own name rather than as part of Les Ballets C de la B.  (Happy to be proven wrong of course, but that's how I remember it!)

I didn't make the connection immediately, but when I saw a bit of the show in rehearsal after a powhiri to welcome the performers, something felt familiar - and in a good way.  I've now seen two more of his works (Babel at Sydney Festival in 2011, and Tezuka in Wellington in 2012) - and he's a choreographer and performer I'd certainly keep an eye out for.

What I didn't realise during the photo shoot was that he was rehearsing another performer to take on the role, so by the time I got back to see the show later that week, someone else was dancing it!  Glad I got to see both, even if it was just a portion of the show I saw initially; it's always interesting to compare someone's original interpretation of a work compared with subsequent productions or performances of it, I think.

(A smaller collection of images today, but tomorrow's going to be big...!)