Sadler’s Wells (London)
SUTRA
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Antony Gormley, Szymon Brzóska
With monks from the Shaolin temple
Encouraged by the consistent success he has enjoyed since his very first work, Rien de rien, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui decided to take a break in the early 2000s to spend several months at the Shaolin Temple in China. But he didn’t linger long in the meditation room: his experience among the monks, who are also martial arts experts, inspired him to create Sutra, a journey as personal as it is spectacular. On visual artist Antony Gormley’s versatile set of wooden boxes, to a score by Szymon Brzóska, Larbi stages an acrobatic work marked by precision and spirituality, a display of beautifully tranquil choreography. A journey of discovery guided by a group of young disciples. Under Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s gaze, celestial mountains are transformed into shifting landscapes.
Photo © Andrée Lanthier. Dancers Ali Thabet and the monks of the Shaolin temple.
