I interviewed Dancers Unlimited co-artistic directors Linda Kuo and Candice “CRT” Taylor three years ago, when they were at the beginning of developing “Edible Tales: Ho’oulu.” This interview proved key in my viewing of the work, which was on at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club on April 25 and 26 as part of the La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival.

Based in NYC and Hawai’i, Dancers Unlimited blends contemporary and street dance with elements of hula and Hawaiian culture. Social justice and movement-based community outreach are also at the center of the DU mission. This unique fusion enables the company to speak to a variety of contemporary and historical themes, all of which have both deep cultural ties as well as relevance to humankind as a whole. 

“Edible Tales: Ho’oulu” (Ho’oulu means growth in Hawaiian) is incredibly wide-ranging in scope. It presents a manifesto on our current systems and lives as humans. From our connection to the land to the stories we tell around the dinner table—everything in the work stems from the human relationship to food. 

Watching the work, it’s clear that the three-and-a-half year creation process was incredibly generative. However, to an audience member without much knowledge of this process, the work might lack context. With the exception of a food-themed altar in the downstage right corner of the stage during the entire first act, the choreographic connection to food could, during certain movements, feel a bit tenuous.