(Both as a dancer and a choreographer, José Limón electrif...)
Both as a dancer and a choreographer, José Limón electrified audiences from the1930s to the 1960s. With his striking looks and charismatic presence, he was American modern dance's first male star. Born in Culiacán, Mexico, in 1908, the eldest of twelve children, he came to the United States when he was seven. In 1928, after a year at UCLA as an art major, he left for New York. Here, he attended his first modern dance concert and discovered his destiny. He spent the 1930s with the Humphrey-Weidman group. Then, in the 1940s, after a stint in the army, and with Doris Humphrey as artistic advisor, he formed one of the outstanding modern dance companies of the postwar era. His greatest works -- The Moor's Pavane, La Malinche, The Traitor, A Choreographic Offering, There is a Time, Missa Brevis -- extolled a humanism that endeared them to audiences the world over. Although Limón died in 1972, all these dances remain in the Limón Dance Company's active repertory. This memoir was commissioned by Wesleyan University Press in the late 1960s. Left unfinished at the time of Limón's death, it stands on its own as a Joycean account of the coming of age of an unusually perceptive dance artist. Limón writes with eloquence of his Mexican childhood. And of the numerous figures he memorializes, from Martha Graham to José Covarrubias, none is more luminously evoked than Doris Humphrey, the "goddess," "nymph," and "caryatid" of his life. Sensitively edited by Lynn Garafola, the book includes a complete list of Limón's works, richly informative notes, rare photographs, and a detailed bibliography. This is the single most important book on Limón and a riveting memoir of modern dance during its golden age
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Jose Arcadio Limon was born on January 12, 1908 in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, the first of eleven children. His father, Florencio Limon, was an army bandmaster. His mother, Francisca Traslavina, gave birth to Jose when she was sixteen and died from repeated childbearing eighteen years later. When Jose was seven, the family fled the Mexican Revolution to Tucson, Arizona, and later settled in Los Angeles.
Limon attended public school and learned how to play the piano from his father. At nineteen he entered the University of California at Los Angeles as an art major. After a year, Limón left UCLA for New York City to pursue a career in painting. Soon after his arrival in 1928, however, he became disillusioned because the contemporary artistic scene was dominated by imitators of modern French artists. Limón, a romantic, drew his inspiration from the Renaissance artists El Greco and Michelangelo. Alienated, he began questioning his devotion to art, and, at the same time, his Catholic faith, which had been strong in the early, difficult years of his life. Limón's friends suggested he consider modern dance. But Limón, believing dance was effeminate and effete, rejected the idea. Then, one evening, he saw a performance by the German modern dancer Harald Kreutzberg called Angel of Last Judgment. Astounded by Kreutzberg's strong movements and great emotion, Limón declared, "My God, that's what I want to do. " The next day, he enrolled in classes at an innovative modern dance studio run by Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman.
Limón received a number honorary doctorates in his lifetime, including from Wesleyan University, the University of North Carolina, Oberlin College, and Colby College.
Limon began dancing at the late age of twenty, but he had several advantages, namely a strong six-foot-plus build, natural athletic ability, and boundless enthusiasm. He earned his first secondary role in the Humphrey-Weidman Company's production of Lysistrata, and by 1930 had choreographed Etudes in D Flat Major and Bacchanale, works of pure movement without dramatic story lines. Humphrey was Limón's mentor until her death in 1958. She developed a technique that emphasized the use of breathing in such movements as "fall and recovery, " "rebound, " "suspension, " and "tension and relaxation. " Limon added his own innovations based on his idea of the body as an orchestra composed of separate instruments that had to be individually mastered before they could work in concert. He developed exercises that isolated each body part and focused on its weight and potentialities of movement. From Weidman, Limon came to appreciate a lightheartedness and humor in dance, neither of which came easily to him. Limon was instead drawn to tragic, dramatic roles. He had a serious presence even off-stage, often greeting acquaintances with a bow. During this period, Limón also studied ballet and appeared in Broadway shows such as Americana, As Thousands Cheer, and Roberta, which financially supported him. He spent summers at the Bennington College Dance Festival. Limón had been a member of the Humphrey-Weidman Company for twelve years when he left the company following a personal conflict with Weidman.
Later Limon returned to the Humphrey-Weidman Company, where he became the lead dancer and in 1942 created Chaconne, a solo work inspired by his favorite composer, Bach, which foreshadowed the dramatic, charged works Limon would later create. World War II interrupted Limón's work.
As a naturalized American citizen, he was drafted into the United States Army in 1943, where he directed and performed in entertainment units. Honorably discharged two years later, Limon formed his own company. Humphrey, whose arthritis kept her from dancing, choreographed for Limon works such as Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejías (1946), about the death of a bullfighter; Felipe el loco (1954); and Ritmo jondo (1953).
Limon often taught during summers at Connecticut College and Bennington College. In his own work, he choreographed for both men and women, but he was especially concerned with expanding the possibilities for the male dancer beyond the "partner" role that had constrained him in ballet. Limón stressed classic themes that were biblical (The Exiles, 1950; The Traitor, 1954, in which Limón played Judas; and There Is a Time, 1956); literary (The Moor's Pavane, 1949, based on Shakespeare's Othello; and The Emperor Jones, 1956, derived from a Eugene O'Neill play); mythical (Orfeo, 1972, about the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice); and historical (Carlota, 1972, the story of the crazed widow of Mexico's French emperor Maximilan; and Danza de la muerte, 1937, based on the Spanish Civil War). A number of works were inspired by his native country, such as La Malinche (1949), the tragic legend of revolt and betrayal during the conquest of Mexico, and Danzas mexicanas (1939).
In 1951, the Mexican government invited the Limon Company to perform and reside in Mexico City. There, Limon created large-scale works such as Los cuatro soles and Redes. In the same year, the Juilliard School of Music in New York City invited him to join its faculty, and Limon accepted. In 1954, the Limon Company was the first to be sent abroad by the State Department as part of its cultural exchange program. On separate occasions, the company toured South America, Europe, the Far East, and Australia. The postwar devastation Limon saw in Poland inspired him to choreograph Missa Brevis (1958), an exploration of guilt and anger.
Following Humphrey's death, Limon paid homage to her with A Choreographic Offering (1964). In that same year he became the artistic director of the American Dance Theater at Lincoln Center. He then began experimenting with works that used minimal or no music, such as The Winged (1966) and The Unsung (1970), a tribute to the American Indian. In the later part of his life, Limon, who was struggling with prostate cancer, devoted himself solely to choreography. He created Dances for Isadora (1971), in honor of Isadora Duncan, whom he referred to as his "artistic mother, " and finally the two works Orfeo and Carlota.
Limon lived on a farm in Stockton, New Jersey, but died in a hospital in Flemington, while his company was performing in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Limon was an important figure in the American modern dance movement of the 1930s-1960s. He was well known for the development of the 'Limon technique'. His best work was, perhaps, The Moor's Pavane (1949), based on Shakespeare's Othello, which won a major award. He was also the founder of the José Limón Dance Company and the José Limón Foundation to carry on his work. He won the prized Capezio Dance Award and the Dance Magazine Award.
(Both as a dancer and a choreographer, José Limón electrif...)
When on the tour with dancer May O'Donnell, Limon developed a romantic correspondence with Pauline Lawrence, dancer and costume designer for the Humphrey-Weidman Company. Limon and Lawrence were married on October 13, 1941, and from then on Lawrence devoted herself to Limón's career. She died in 1971.
