Dance: ‘Them’ at Performance Space New York

June 21-28; performancespacenewyork.org.

In 1986, New York was gripped by the AIDS crisis, and its horrors were especially felt in the dance world. The choreographer Ishmael Houston-Jones joined forces with the composer and guitarist Chris Cochrane and the writer Dennis Cooper to create “Them,” which was first performed that year at the nonprofit P.S. 122.

Revived in 2010, this important, unmissable work — haunting and searing — is back again to close the season at the newly renamed Performance Space New York as part of its East Village Series.

While not specifically a work about AIDS, the interdisciplinary production for seven men explores gay male sexuality and references the disease. The dance is a series of structured improvisations built around Mr. Cooper’s text and Mr. Cochrane’s music. And just because you saw “Them” before doesn’t mean you shouldn’t see it again. The world has changed much since it was last shown in 2010. The present has a whiff of 1986: There is a new sense of urgency. GIA KOURLAS