Choreographer, director and film-maker Wim Vandekeybus’s company Ultima Vez returns to one of its key works.

In 1999, when the dance piece In Spite of Wishing and Wanting was first performed, it caused a huge stir. For the first time, Vandekeybus had created a performance not about the chemistry between men and women but a primal desire in a world of men alone – fierce, wild, naive and playful.

Spellbinding footage and dance sequences, supported by David Byrne’s sensual soundtrack, flow into monologues about fear, a desire for security and the magic of sleep.

The dance scenes see dancers wearing long skirts, twisting and turning while white feathers flutter down, madly spinning or flying off like birds.

In this whirlwind of dance, Vandekeybus leaves room for emotion, life, its joys and miseries, its conflicts and warmth. He manages to mix his very physical, almost violent, quite risky dancing with extreme gentleness and beauty. Vandekeybus adds theatrical sequences and two short surrealist films drawn from Cortazar novels, which add humour and are a reflection on language.

In Spite of Wishing and Wanting is being staged tonight at Fort St Elmo in Valletta, at 9pm. It has a rating of 14+ and includes scenes of nudity. For tickets, visit www.kreattivita.org or www.maltaartsfestival.org.