When it comes to universal story lines, the seed-to-harvest cycle is high on the list. Agrarian rhythms get choreographic expression in “The Mist,” a dance piece created and performed by Arabesque, which is said to be the only contemporary dance troupe in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Slated for performance at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage on Wednesday as part of Arabesque’s U.S. debut tour, “The Mist” pays homage to the chores and rituals of Vietnamese rice farming. Dancers whose costumes include traditional Vietnamese work clothes, and who sometimes appear with realistic props such as bamboo carrying-poles, execute steps that adhere to a modern-dance aesthetic. Traces of ballet are perceptible, too (Nguyen Tan Loc, Arabesque’s artistic director, studied at the Fujisato Ballet Studio in Tokyo).

“The Mist” is wafting around the United States courtesy of Center Stage, a cultural exchange program created by the State Department in partnership with the New England Foundation for the Arts. Adrienne Petrillo, a program manager at the foundation, says the Arabesque tour represents the largest group of artists Center Stage has brought to the United States this year. In addition to the seven dancers and the artistic director, a technical director has made the trip. Who could wonder at the inclusion of this last professional? “The Mist” was written to conclude with a climactic rainstorm of rice.