The Second Sunrise is a response to contemporary Tamil poet Rudhramoorthy Cheran’s war anthology that looks at the embodied connection one has with one’s land, with one’s roots and loss. Together with artists Zai Kuning and Bani Haykal who perform the music live, and dancers from Chowk Productions, choreographer Raka Maitra presents a work where the veneer of the present seeks to contain the impulses, motivations, and desires inherent in the original poetics of violence, trauma and displacement. The Second Sunrise is an offering of hope for the northeastern coast of Sri Lanka. Described by Dance Europe as “without doubt a dancer of the 21st century”, Raka Maitra defies the conventional dichotomy between classical and contemporary, seeking to expand new vocabularies and contexts for odissi dance.