The Ko Festival of Performance closes out its season this weekend with a physical theater piece by Springfield’s First Generation Ensemble, a troupe of youths ages 16-25 who may count themselves to be the first in their family to grow up in the United States, the first to speak English, to graduate high school, go to college, to be incarcerated, be drug free, be openly LGBT, to break the silence, to be an artist, a feminist, or one of many other firsts.
Called “Tenderness,” the show incorporates movement, music and text in six languages (Arabic, Mandingo, Kirundi, Creole, French, English) to highlight the contrast between the power of human tenderness and the dehumanization at the core of all violence.
Performances in Amherst College’s Holden Theater are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. $20 general; $16 seniors and students. 542-3750, kofest.com