Onbashira Dyptich

Onbashira (‘the honourable pillars’ in Japanese) is a Shinto ritual that has been held every six years for 1,200 years near Lake Suwa in Nagano prefecture. To renew the pillars of the Suwa sanctuary, sixteen fir trees weighing almost ten tonnes are felled during a ceremony and then dragged over ten kilometres to the sanctuary's temples. On the most dangerous descents, men ride the trunks as they hurtle down the mountain to demonstrate their bravery.

It was this ritual that inspired Belgian choreographer Damien Jalet, who is heavily influenced by Japanese culture (remember Planet (Wanderer)), to create Onbashira Diptych, made up of two pieces: Thr(o)ugh and Skid. "In Thr(o)ugh, we show the trunk of a tree, and in Skid the slope of a mountain.

The dancers perform on a huge 34-degree slope, dressed in supple yet protective uniforms designed by Brussels-based designer Jean-Paul Lespagnard. Set to music by Christian Fennesz and Marihiko Hara, a blend of classical and electronic, the dancers perform a succession of fascinating tableaux in which rising and falling are both opposites and complements.