The Akram Khan Company performed its newest theatre/dance piece, “iTMOi,” in Moscow at the start of October. At the end of the month it will be on stage in Montreal. In between the company will give the only U.S. performance, and that will be at the University of California, Davis.

“iTMOi” (“In the Mind of Igor”) imagines through movement, music, sets and lighting the creative journey Igor Stravinsky might have taken in composing “The Rite of Spring,” one of the monumental artistic accomplishments of the 20th century.

Bringing the piece to the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts Oct. 24 was also a monumental undertaking and underscores the center’s cultural impact on the region. It started in the summer of 2013 when Mondavi Center Executive Director Don Roth and Associate Executive Director Jeremy Ganter were in Paris on a talent-finding foray. When they saw that the Akram Khan Company was performing its brand-new “iTMOi,” they jumped at the chance to see what choreographer Khan was up to, having hosted and been awed by the group in 2012.

“We were totally blown away,” Ganter said. “It feels like you are being sucked into an alternative universe from the first moment. We knew we wanted to find a way to bring it here.”

They contacted the London-based company’s North American producer, 2Luck Concepts, but were told the production was too big and technically complex to take on the road.

“We had no plans to tour this piece until Don and Jeremy saw it and went gaga over it,” said John Luckacovic, co-director of 2Luck.  

Working with 2Luck, the Mondavi Center reached out to West Coast dance presenters to develop a tour. After six months of hard work, five West Coast venues were on board.

“Many times along the way we thought it wouldn’t happen, but we never gave up," Ganter said.

Then over a few days in February, venue after venue dropped out, citing costs, conflicting dates and an inability to secure an adequate location, until only the Mondavi Center was left.

“The logical thing for us to do was to say we tried and forget about doing it,” Ganter said. “But we felt the season would be greatly diminished without it. The truly remarkable thing is how, between UC Davis, Akram Khan Company and 2Luck, our date was saved.”

Khan, who has received the Laurence Olivier Award and the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, created “iTMOi” for the 100th anniversary of “The Rite of Spring.”

“Rite” began as a Ballets Russes ballet, choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky, with music by the largely unknown Stravinsky. The aggressive dancing and sometimes cacophonous music caused a near riot at the Paris premiere. The music overcame the original uproar and is considered one of the most influential musical works of the 20th century.

“iTMOi” employs an all-original score with Indian, folk and industrial influences with only a snippet of Stravinsky’s music.

“It’s extraordinary that the company would come all this way just for us,” Ganter said. “It’s a reflection of the good experience they had with us in 2012 and how the Mondavi Center and UC Davis are perceived.”

Mondavi Executive Director Roth said the upcoming performance, and the Mondavi Center's U.S. premiere of Ballet Preljocaj’s “Blanche Neige” in 2012, speak to the stature of the center.

“These events underscore our growing international reputation, bringing significant attention to the university and the region,” he said.

“Our early and consistent support of ‘iTMOi’ and our relationship with the company resulted in their willingness to come west for a single performance here,” Roth said. “We are proud to host the U.S. premiere and only U.S. performance of this stunning work — a dark and startling meditation in movement on ‘Rite of Spring.’”

The performance starts at 8 p.m. Ticket prices range from $27 to $56.