Binoche shows her true star quality

In-I Juliette Binoche and Akram Khan Lyric Theatre, HK Academy for Performing Arts, ends tomorrow

Oscar-winning French actress Juliette Binoche is without a doubt the star of this piece of contemporary dance and the main draw for this Hong Kong Arts Festival programme.

Co-directed and performed with British choreographer Akram Khan - whose last arts festival outing was two years ago, with star ballerina Sylvia Guillem - In-I is said to have evolved, and improved, a lot since debuting at London's National Theatre last September.

The work's theme is the strengths and weaknesses that people find inside themselves. One of Binoche's inspirations for In-I was the ancient Sumerian myth of the 'goddess Inanna'. The deity's descent into hell and subsequent rebirth celebrates both the annual rebirth of nature in spring, as well as the sacred marriage between Earth and heaven - 'the female and male principles'.

These concepts are expressed in 14 scenes through dancing with acting. The ultimate challenge for the performers is how they venture outside their comfort zones: Khan switches from dance to acting, while Binoche delves deep to find the 'visceral language' of her body.

The connection between the leads is evident in the number of physically demanding duets - one wrong move could have led to injury.