For his much-anticipated new work, award-winning choreographer Akram Khan joins forces with celebrated fellow choreographer, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, sculptor Antony Gormley and musician Nitin Sawhney to present the world premiere of 'Zero Degrees' on Tuesday 12 July. 'Zero Degrees' is inspired by Khan's interest in cloning, in the concept of the self and the other. For Khan, zero degrees is the reference point where everything begins and everything ends.

The project is the culmination of a long-standing interest in working together. The two met at Anne Theresa De Keersmaeker's X-Group choreographic project (PARTS) in Brussels in 1999 where Khan was working on a six-month choreographic course, while Larbi was training with the company. Both are both from Islamic families, brought up in Europe. Khan has a Bangladeshi-British background; Larbi is Flemish-Moroccan. Both draw on their distinctive roots and cultural identity in their dance styles and are inspired by issues of identity, spiritualism and philosophy in their work.

Yet as Khan says, "We start from completely opposite poles. He starts from theatre and moves towards movement. I start from movement and work towards theatre. I'm hoping we meet halfway"

ABOUT AKRAM KHAN

Khan grew up dancing Kathak, the traditional Indian dance form, characterised by fast, rhythmic footwork and detailed hand and arm movements. At the age of 14, he toured in Peter Brook's version of the Mahabharata and was heavily influenced by the experimental director. He took a dance degree at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and went on to dance with Jonathan Burrows before studying with PARTS in Brussels. During his six months there, Akram had space, dancers and specialist support to develop his craft as a choreographer. In 1999, he won the Jerwood Foundation Choreography Award.

He formed the Akram Khan Dance Company in 2000, and won Outstanding Newcomer Awards from both the Critic's Circle and Time Out. His company has now clocked up over 190 performances worldwide. His first full-length work Kaash, a collaboration with Anish Kapoor and Nitin Sawnhey, was performed at the Edinburgh Festival in 2002.

He became Associate Artist at the Royal Festival Hall 2001. He was made an honorary Doctor of Arts from De Montfort University in Leicester in July 2004 and won a South Bank Show Award in January 2005, for his 2004 production, Ma, which was premiered in Edinburgh and seen at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in November.

ABOUT SIDI LARBI CHERKAOUI

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui has been described as having "the suppleness of a contortionist and the fanaticism of a flagellant". His varied background includes revues and TV shows, theatre workshops, sociology, dance history, contemporary dance, hip-hop, modern jazz, and Broadway dance. This, and his open attitude to all forms of performance, means that his choreographic work is highly personal, theatrical, and eclectic.

ABOUT ANTONY GORMLEY

Creating the environment for the production is artist Antony Gormley, most famous for his momumental Angel of the North sculpture near Gateshead, and a keen fan of Khan's work. Working closely with the two dancers, his designs reflect their exploration of duality, including life size casts of the two. Since the 1970s, Gormley has been internationally recognised as breathing new life into the use of the human form in sculpture. His figures embody an ongoing exploration of what it means to be alive. He has described his recent work as focussing on "the tense equations between being and nothingness".

ABOUT NITIN SAWHNEY

The commissioned score is by celebrated composer and producer Nitin Sawhney. Born to Indian parents in Kent, Sawhney studied Law at Liverpool University where he met Sanjeev Bhaskar. They created the comedy 'Secret Asians' which evolved into the BBC award-winning TV series 'Goodness Gracious Me'. After a tour with the James Taylor Quartet, he formed 'The Jazz Tones' and collaborated with tabla player Talvin Singh in the The Tihai Trio. Since his debut solo album, Spirit Dance in 1993, his musical impetus to create a new Indo-western fusion has continued, with Migration (1995), Displacing the Priest (1996), Beyond Skin (1999) and Prophesy (2001). Each explore religion, politics and the complexities of the Anglo-Asian experience. Nitin Sawhney first collaborated with Akram Khan on the solo, Fix in 2000, working with him again in 2002 on Kaash.

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