'Hello, my name is You' looks at life with Asperger's

Kuntz and Company, a non-profit dance/theatre company directed by Pam Kuntz, presents "Hello, my name is You," a dance/theatre piece about Asperger’s.

Kuntz is a senior instructor in the Dance Program at Western Washington University.

The piece shares the life of Cooper, a 28-year old Bellingham resident who has Asperger’s. The artists of Kuntz and Company perform alongside Cooper illustrating the various facets of her life with this Autism Spectrum Disorder. The evening explores how Cooper is solving her day-to-day activities in a culture that is learning how to understand her. Hello features Bellingham artists Ian Bivins, Pam Kuntz, Annie Hewlett, Angela Kiser, Hannah Reclam and Zach Wymore.

This is the 13th in a series of performance pieces created by Kuntz that have explored a wide range of social and personal issues using the stories of local community members. Past pieces include "The Mom Project" (2005), "That one Curve" (2006), "Stories from Jim and Jo" (2010) and "Leave my Shoes by the Door" (2011). Using dance as the vehicle for delivering these stories, performers provide a revealing, sensory experience that makes public those things we don’t normally talk about.

Three performances of "Hello, my name is You" will be held at the Firehouse Performing Arts Center at 1314 Harris Ave. in Bellingham Feb 1to 3. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 7:30 p.m., and the Sunday performance begins at 5 p.m. A post-show discussion will immediately follow all performances. Tickets are $15 and available at Village Books; attendees also may pay what they can at the door (suggested $8 to $15).

For more information, go to http://www.kuntzandco.org or call 360-510-4711.