A titan of modern dance, José Limón was recognized for both his visionary choreography and for helping audiences reimagine the role of male dancers through his visceral, powerful performances. Born in Mexico, Limón’s career in dance began after he moved to New York City where he studied under the tutelage of Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. Founding the Limón Dance Company in 1946, he went on to establish himself as a trailblazer, introducing new techniques and choreographing pieces that have gone on to become standards of American dance.
The classic Limón works, like Shakespeare’s, are as perceptive today as when they were made. They speak, urgently and joyfully, of our lives now: our individual struggles and triumphs, how we face the world and how we sense that world around us, how we can be with others, how we can destroy the bonds between us, and how we can ultimately create community.
Program:
Chaconne
José Limón, music by Johann Sebastian Bach
The Unsung
José Limón
Radical Beasts in the Forest of Possibilities
Francesca Harper, music by Nona Hendryx composed for the dance
Excerpt from Psalm
José Limón, music by Jon Magnussen composed for the dance
