A sirenscrossing production. Starts at the Firehall Arts Centre at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. until Saturday, July 15

One of the most fabulously inventive site-specific works Vancouver has ever hosted, city:skinned is a must-see not only for dance fans but also for Vancouverites wishing to discover their city with fresh eyes. The sirenscrossing “urban performance” is a wild ride, and though it's described in press material as happening mainly in the Downtown Eastside, the show takes viewers a lot farther than that.

Not knowing where you're going next is part of the fun. Audiences meet at the Firehall Arts Centre and follow the dancers from there. The five performers””Catherine Anderson, Carolyn Chan, Tanya Marquardt, Pia Nordin, and Cara Siu””all wear neon-green wigs with shirts to match so they're easy to spot, whether they're 30 metres down the road or tucked into building nooks along the way. For the artists, city:skinned is a physically punishing marathon. They roll across dirty streets, dangle from concrete ledges, skitter sideways across the ground like crabs, coil their bodies around trees, and sprint down condom-strewn alleys.

London, England–based director Carolyn Deby cleverly sets her high-energy choreography in a variety of spaces. Viewers peer through sliding patio doors into a hipster bar, where the dancers manoeuvre around tables inside; later, one performer takes over the window display of a funky clothing store. By participating in this travelling road show, audiences themselves become part of the entertainment for curious onlookers and passersby.

Deby is obsessed with nature, and city:skinned reveals spots of natural beauty in the most unexpected places. Take the burst of colour that shows up in a row of tall, multihued hollyhocks outside a Gore Street coffee shop. Then there is the installation in a former funeral parlour, wherein moss and small trees are planted in an open coffin. The show also leads viewers through a forest, culminating in the sight of one performer wedging her body against the trunk of a giant cedar.

City:skinned is full of surprises, and because there are so many random elements, every show will be different. It's extremely well-organized and responsibly executed. (Audiences are reminded to obey traffic signs and to stay together as a group.) And as two California tourists who attended on opening night can attest, it's also a great way to see the real Vancouver.