The McNeese State University Cultural Banners Series will present a performance by the Koresh Dance Co. at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The dance company from Philadelphia is known for its high-energy performances and unique blend of ballet, modern dance and jazz.

Artistic director and founder of the Koresh Dance Co. Ronen Koresh said the performance will celebrate the company’s 20-year history by going back in time through its catalog of choreographed performances.

“We just celebrated our 20th anniversary as a dance company so I’ve created a compilation of works that represents us from the last 20 years. It’s a really good representation of our work, and it’s a great show because it takes you through a variety of dance moves and narratives. It’s really quite exciting to see, and we’ve been touring with this production for a while now and audiences are just in love with it,” he said.

Koresh said the performance will feature 11 dancers, four men and seven women and comprises several small vignettes of previously performed dances throughout the company’s history.

“There is one section of the show called ‘Looking Back’ which features music of the ‘40s and ‘50s, with music performed by Elvis Presley, Nat King Cole and Ray Charles. We’re also doing a bolero section, and a section called ‘Trust,’ which is all performed to beautiful world music that takes you into a whole different atmosphere. It’s all contemporary modern dance and it’s really joyful and celebrates life,” he said.

This particular show has already been performed all over the nation and abroad, including performances held recently in Baton Rouge.

Koresh said the company is thrilled to be able to celebrate the art of dance for audiences as well as their own history.

“We’re just excited and surprised to have lasted this long. When you’re doing what you love and fighting constantly for it, you don’t really have time to look back because you’re just focusing on moving forward, so it doesn’t feel like 20 years that we’ve been doing this,” he said.

Fang-Ju Chou Gant