As the comradery builds, the black cloaks come off so that both dancers wear similar golden tunics with flowing white pants—the costumes by K H Lee. Their bodies intertwined while seated on the floor one in front of the other, the two dancers appear as a four-armed deity. With a change of position, Shenyuan frames the sides of Odedra’s face with the soles of his feet like large animal ears—a humorous allusion to the monk’s animal entourage. Finally, Shenyuan comes to his feet and spins, his hands clasped together in prayer. All the while, he is carrying Odedra, who hangs upside down, his feet clasped around Shenyuan’s neck.

With a ping of the finger cymbals, Shenyuan releases Odedra and remains still, hands in a gesture of prayer, like a serene Buddha. The chanting of a Sanskrit mantra impels Odedra into a bravura Kathak solo. Bathed in golden light, he zips about the stage with electrifying energy punctuating the space striking momentary postures of the all-powerful deity Shiva. Nicki Wells sounds off verbal acrobatics with a rapid-fire recitation of Indian percussion syllables as Odedra leaps through the air eventually landing to circle the space with a chain of pirouettes on his knees.

Each absorbing tableau organically leads to another with a seamless dramaturgy by Lou Cope. Shenyuan spreads a path of sand before Odedra and gestures the way forward. They alternate forming a path and leading the other. The destination feels near as the stage lights up—now populated with many more sculpted figures. Imitating the sculptures’ poses and wooden quality (although the brownish figures are actually made of foam), the two embrace in a couple’s dance like two wooden or aged figures.

The sand flows freely—in thin streams above every sculpted figure as well as from pouches that the dancers find and pour about the stage. And its symbolism is brilliant—indicating an endless cycle of lifetimes, the monk’s lengthy journey, and the earthy matrix that unites all beings. The two dancers shower each other with the abundant substance in joyous acts of purification and dive into full prostrations in the manner of Buddhist pilgrims at sacred sites. In the final sublime instant, they each take the posture of the Buddha and echo the enduring search for spiritual truth.