Mexican-American choreographer José Limón (1908-1972) created his 1958 masterwork, "Missa Brevis in Tempore Belli," after his Limón Dance Company toured post World War II Europe. At once aghast at the ruins and destruction, yet uplifted by the survivors’ dedication to reconstructing their lives, Limón created a modern-dance work of epic scope that features a solitary figure amongst more than 20 dancers sweeping across the stage.

On Thursday evening, March 19, audiences will witness this powerful piece once again, as nine students from the University of Minnesota Dance Department join the 12-member Limón company on the Northrop stage. Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály’s score will be sung by the Oratorio Society of Minnesota, with Helen Jensen from the Oratorio Society playing Northrop’s Aeolian-Skinner organ.

In the work, the single figure or outsider or iconoclast is played against a large group that swarms around, reassembles beside or moves in concert with him. According to Carl Flink, chair of the U of M’s Department of Theatre Arts & Dance, and who danced in Limón’s company from 1992 to 1998, the work "exemplifies the epic aspects of Limón’s choreography at its best, and is a powerful experience for audiences."

Recall the swearing in of President Barack Obama, advises Flink, when asked about the cultural relevance of a 50-year-old dance work. “Here was the outsider coming into community, a person at the microphone overlooking a sea of people supporting him. The formality of that moment is no different from the formality of 'Missa Brevis.' And there it was on national television, broadcast all over the world. Those grand, epic, historic moments are just the kind of power 'Missa' still captures."

The Northrop program also includes Limón’s 1954 meditation on Judas’ betrayal of Christ, "The Traitor"; and  "Into My Heart’s House," a work by former dancer Clay Taliaferro commissioned in celebration of the 100th anniversary of José Limón's birth.

Limón Dance Company. Thursday, March 19, 7:30 p.m. Northrop Auditorium, University of Minnesota. Tickets $55-$31. 612-624-2345.