The economy is in bad shape. Collective bargaining is under attack. Unemployment is high. The country appears to be headed for another Great Depression.

Marjorie Neset is a self-described "obsessive traveler and geographer." In 2008, a research grant landed her in Maputo, Mozambique, to investigate the local dance scene. There she connected with Panaibra Gabriel Canda—one of the country's foremost dance figures. A few weekends ago, Neset found herself on an 800-mile road trip from Los Angeles to Albuquerque, delivering Canda and his guitarist, Jorge Domingos, to the 11th annual installation of Global DanceFest.