Although dance serves as a universal language that can bring people together and foster community, it can also reflect myriad differences among people and cultures. A real-life personal pilgrimage inspired Cincinnati-based modern dance ensemble MamLuft&Co. Dance’s Homecoming, presented at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater (650 Walnut St., Downtown).
Last year, Founding Director Jeanne Mam-Luft, who was raised in America, journeyed to her native Cambodia — from which her immediate family had fled during the Khmer Rouge era — in the hopes of connecting with her roots and to feel a sense of greater belonging. Unexpectedly, she felt no such emotions and discovered that “a sense of home — or, place, as one might think of it — has nothing to do with external factors and everything to do with internal conviction.” The company relocated here from North Texas a few years back and is celebrating its fourth season — and it has doubled in size, from half a dozen dancers to a dozen, plus guest artists and other collaborators. (Full disclosure: I was once a company member.) This program features a world premier of the evening-length work “Homecoming,” as well as a pair of additional pieces, including “Intermittent Restraint,” choreographed by Amy Querin of Fresno Dance Collective.
Go here for ticket information and show details.
