Two world premieres anchor a season-opening tribute to Caribbean and Afro-Diaspora culture.

Cleo Parker Robinson Dance (CPRD) opens its fall season with Caribé, a two-night concert exploring how the African Diaspora has shaped cultures across the Bahamas, Cuba, Venezuela and Mexico.

The performances, set for Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, will feature the CPRD Ensemble, Cleo II and guest dancers from the National Dance Company of the Bahamas (NDCB), backed by live music from Ritmo Jazz Latino/Conjunto Colores.

The program includes two world premieres. NDCB Artistic Director Robert Bain II choreographed Junkanoo: Passage of Time, which traces the evolution of the Bahamas’ signature cultural festival from its roots as an expression of freedom during slavery to its current status as a national celebration. Masks and costumes for the piece were built using 3D-printing techniques by Denver’s Michael Sullivan of HAUS Atelier, based on Bain’s designs and historical materials.

The second premiere, We Weep as We Leave: We Are Each Other’s Home, comes from choreographer Gary Abbott, a CPRD Ensemble alumnus now a Guggenheim Fellow and professor emeritus at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Abbott said the piece is dedicated to Venezuelan, Cuban, Afro-Latino and Afro-Haitian individuals forced to choose between survival and homeland.

CPRD’s connection to the Bahamas dates to the mid-1990s, when the U.S. State Department recruited founder Cleo Parker Robinson to help establish the NDCB. The rest of the program draws on the company’s archive, including excerpts from La Mulata de Córdoba, Donald McKayle’s 1972 work “Angelitos Negros” and Bain’s 2005 piece Celebration of Life.

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Tickets range from $25 to $120, with discounts for students, elders and groups of six or more.