Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui at State Theatre Centre of Western Australia

Widely hailed as the "God of Manga", visionary Japanese animator Osamu Tezuka provides the inspiration for internationally renowned award-winning choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's brand new work TeZukA.

Working with a cast of ten dancers and two musicians, drawn from Europe, Asia and USA, Cherkaoui explores the Tezuka universe - a fascinating blend of tradition, science fiction and contemporary reality. Two of Tezuka's manga stories which are well known in Japanese popular culture - Astro Boy and Buddha - have particularly captured Cherkaoui's imagination in creating this new work.

TeZukA will feature a specially commissioned score from composer Nitin Sawhney, a long-time collaborator of Cherkaoui. Cherkaoui's choreography will attempt to connect to the physical journey of Tezuka's drawings - from a line on a blank page to a single Japanese kanji (letter) to a fully formed manga character. Using the dancers' movements to trace this evolution (plus Tezuka's original illustrations projected onto the stage, alongside

those from artists at Tezuka Productions in Tokyo), Cherkaoui will bring the God of Manga's philosophy, drawings and characters to life.