BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Set aside the disturbing images of a divided, war-torn nation, forever haunted by history.

Nguyen Tan Loc, founder of the modern dance company Arabesque, would like to take you to a gentler Vietnam, to bring you up to date and show you the countryside where farmers laboriously cultivate rice by hand.

Seven dancers from Vietnam's only independent contemporary dance company will dance into "The Mist" Monday, Nov. 3, at Samford University's Wright Center, the third stop on company's American tour. Reached by phone this week in Washington D.C., where Arabesque was about to debut at the Kennedy Center, Tan Loc spoke about "The Mist," starting a modern dance company in Ho Chi Minh City, and the company's global impact.

What is "The Mist" about?

NTL: I'm trying to bring the feeling of a Vietnamese farmer who is cultivating rice. We took the dancers several times to the countryside and saw it done. In the early morning mist, you see a drop of water on the leaves, delicate and sparkling under the rising sun. Rice farming is hard work, but we found out that people love what they do. We think it's a great representation of what Vietnam means. It is about their lives, their love, nature, religion, spirit, everything about the Vietnamese farmer.

How is modern dance accepted in Vietnam?

NTL: Not many people know about modern dance in Vietnam. The trend is ballet or traditional dance. I don't dare to say I'm changing that, but I'm trying to bring a new type of dance to audiences, particularly where I live in Ho Chi Minh City. So far we are doing OK. We bring a lot of people to see our dance.

NTL: Yes. In Vietnam we have 54 nations. A lot of nations have strong dance and music, but we are really one big nation. We have a history of war, but we are not trying to promote that, but rather bring the feeling of what we have through contemporary dance, through the eyes of a young generation. I think we have done that. After seeing the show, audiences say, "this is Vietnam."

Where did the dancers receive their training?

NTL: One dancer studied in Hanoi for seven years, then went to study in Holland and worked in Europe for five years, then came back to Vietnam to work with us. Another dancer, also from Hanoi, went to Japan for five years, two dancers who were trained in Vietnam went to Korea for a modern dance competition with several countries, and got a silver medal. I studied in Hong Kong, France and England.

How much of traditional Vietnamese dance will the Birmingham audience experience at the show?

NTL: For this show, we want to bring the feeling of Vietnam through contemporary choreography. We would like the audience to see something new, but not so strange to them. When they see the dance, they have to see themselves in the dance, they have to feel the feeling of the dancer. That's the most important thing for us -- in the show, and after the show.