The razor edge of attraction and repulsion is at the heart of a “brutal confrontation of dance and music”.

What The Body Does Not Remember was the headline-making debut of choreographer Wim Vandekeybus and his company Ultima Vez in 1987, and it stunned the world of dance.

Wim and composers Thierry de Mey and Peter Vermeersch won the sought-after Bessie Award in New York for the “dangerous, combative landscape” of What the Body Does Not Remember.

Nearly 30 years on and with a new cast, the show still stands as one of the most exciting pieces of dance ever made and is once again on a sellout world tour which comes to Canterbury.

“When I watch the performance, I can feel the original passion and energy all over again,” said Wim.

`I was utterly sick of all that aesthetic stuff, that pretending. I wanted raw emotion, physical power and guts'

“At the time I was utterly sick of all that aesthetic stuff, that ‘pretending’. I wanted raw emotion, physical power and guts. Now, decades later, we are still throwing stones in the revival of What the Body Does Not Remember.

"To me that proves not only that a lot is possible, but also that what is possible can also last.”

In his first piece of choreography around the themes of attraction and repulsion, dancers are driven to act and react at high speed and with split second timing, to each other and the music.

Moments of humour thread through explosions of aggression, fear and danger in this adrenaline-fuelled and distinctly physical performance.

He adds: “I like to challenge my obsessions by imposing new rules on them.

“The easy way is never an option: I like things difficult, so as to be able to enjoy it afterwards and to be able to say that it was all worthwhile.”

What the Body Does Not Remember will be at Gulbenkian Theatre on Friday, February 13 and Saturday, February 14, at 7.30pm.

Tickets cost £7 and £5 for students. Visit www.thegulbenkian.co.uk, or call 01227 769075.