Last summer, Chris Schlichting premiered a new work, "love things," as part of the Momentum series for emerging choreographers, sponsored by Walker Art Center and Southern Theater. Up to that point, Schlichting was better known in dance circles as someone who performs in other people’s work. But "love things" changed all that.

The piece, which Schlichting described last year as "a dialogue about dance; we’re working with movement, the language of the body," got picked up by the SCUBA Touring Network. A partnership between Velocity Dance Center of Seattle, ODC Theater in San Francisco, Philadelphia Dance Projects and the Southern, SCUBA shares emerging talent between collaborators, to introduce budding choreographers to new audiences around the country.

Schlichting’s "love things" is a non-narrative, dancey work by turns funny, surprising and touching. During a recent conversation, Schlichting remarked that he’s been honing and tightening the work, and is ready to re-introduce it to audiences in the Twin Cities and elsewhere.

Also on the SCUBA program are two works by the Philadelphia-based Charles O. Anderson — "TAR" and "World Headquarters" — which blend political commentary with African-based movement; and "Milk Traces" by San Francisco choreographer Shinichi Iova-Koga, who examine birth through a mix of Asian and Western dance vocabularies.

SCUBA Touring Network. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis. Tickets $20. 612-340-1725.