The tender, delicate, and simultaneously sensual choreography of Li Pianpian, full of features characteristic to eastern culture, mesmerizes the audience and entices them to embark on journey in search of spiritual refuge.

As means of expression, the choreographer uses elements that reference the traditional ancient Chinese idea of how the world was built: “Heaven is round, the earth is square.” (Sometimes this phrase is used as the equivalent of “that’s the way the world works.”) At the beginning of the performance, Li Pianpian introduces the audience to the “conceptual apparatus”. A dancer slowly moves inside a large circle: this element of the ancient conception of the world turns into a characteristic symbol of the production, revealing the romantic idea: “If the end is the beginning, we are sure to meet again.”

The simple (though not for our eyes, of course) character 宿 emerged in the choreographer’s original concept for the production. “The strongest impressions are left by goodbyes at airports and on trains, and also entering a new, unfamiliar milieu where you study, work, or just live… As I got older, I suddenly began to wonder what the way back signifies (the way home, the return journey). Sometimes, we part just to fix that moment in our memory, don’t we? Is it possible that, unbeknownst to ourselves, we store all our future memories from the very beginning?”

Perceiving the beginning of the journey (the start point) as the search for spiritual refuge (the end point), Li Pianpian staged the performance 宿.