Limon Inspirations

I think the biggest influence and collaboration in Jose Limon's artistic shaping was Doris Humphrey when Jose went to study with her and Charles Weidman, he learned a great deal of what he went off to use in his choreography.

Humphrey's greatest contribution came from her thought of dance as existing in an arc between two deaths: the body lying prone or standing firmly erect--both stable, both lacking in theatrical excitement. Kinetic interest was stirred when the body, venturing from its position of stability, encountered the pull of gravity, defied it, and triumphantly reclaimed its equilibrium. The theory of 'fall and recover,' as it was called, was at once a pure movement idea and a dramatic concept. The threat motivated action that engendered designs in space and time; it also symbolized the eternal conflict between man's longing for security and his desire to risk the dangers of the unknown. In Humphrey choreography, he always dared the dangerous adventure and always emerged victorious. (http://www.aristos.org/whatart/limon.htm)

Not sure what exactly is happening in the world when Jose Limon was choreographing but by researching a few of his pieces I notice what may have inspired him.

The Moors Pavane 1949: captures the drama and passion of Shakespeare's Othello in a timeless portrayal of love, jealousy, and betrayal.

The Traitor 1954: Like the arch-betrayer Judas Iscariot, the protagonist in this dance drama symbolizes all those tormented men who, loving too much, must hate; these men who to our own day must turn against their loyalties, friends and fatherlands, and in some fearful cataclysm of the spirit, betray them to the enemy. Against a music score of dissonant violence, passion and tenderness, the tragedy of Judas is portrayed as if it were taking place in our time.

There is a Time 1956: "To every season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" -Ecclesiastes Chapter 3. The entire work is, both choreographically and musically, a theme with variations. Limón used as his theme a large circle, which, at the opening of the work, fills the stage and moves majestically as if to evoke the interminable passage of time. This circle is seen repeatedly in many guises, rhythms and dramatic shapes, always making allusion to the text from Ecclesiastes and its evocation of human experience.

A Choreographic Offering 1964: This work was created as a tribute to Limón's mentor, Doris Humphrey. The piece is based on movements from her dances, and contains variations, paraphrases and motifs from 14 Humphrey works.

Chaconne 1971: The Chaconne as a dance form originated in New Spain, now Mexico, as a robust and raucous dance. Bach employed the strict musical form of the Chaconne but enriched it with powerful emotional implications. Limón tried to capture in his dance both the formal austerity and the profound feeling of the music.

Dances for Isadora 1971: Homage to Isadora Duncan with five solo dances to Chopin. "In five solos Mr. Limón evokes both the actual images of Duncan's politically revolutionary dances and the equally real melodrama of her biography." - Anna Kisselgoff, New York Times, October 1972

Dances for Isadora from Jose Limon on Vimeo.

The Traitor 1954: Like the arch-betrayer Judas Iscariot, the protagonist in this dance drama symbolizes all those tormented men who, loving too much, must hate; these men who to our own day must turn against their loyalties, friends and fatherlands, and in some fearful cataclysm of the spirit, betray them to the enemy. Against a music score of dissonant violence, passion and tenderness, the tragedy of Judas is portrayed as if it were taking place in our time. (http://www.limon.org/Dance/Repertory.php) In just these few dances that Limon has created I noticed that he is inspired by many things; he explores dance history researching Isadora Duncan and Doris Humphrey, in the dances he created in honor of them and their movement. Limon gets inspired off of greek mythology and stories and scripture in the Bible. He explores jealousy, love, hate, friendship and loyalty in many of his pieces. He also sets things choreographically and musically to make the piece a dance! He collaborated with many people. Leaving the Humphrey-Weidman company, Limon worked with May O’Donnell to create War Lyrics. O’Donnell and Limon also co-choreographed Curtain Riser, This Story is Legend and Three Inventories on Casey Jones. This was also the year when Limon married Pauline Lawrence, October 3, 1942. The partnership with O’Donnell dissolved the following year and Limon created Chaconne for a program at Humphrey-Weidman. Limon’s final appearance on Broadway was Balanchine’s Rosalinda in which he partnered with Mary Ellen Moylan. 1943, Limon and Humphrey created dances on American and folk themes at the Studio Theatre before Limon was drafted into the Army in April. A year later he was collaborating with composers Frank Loesser and Alex North and choreographed several works for U.S. Army Special Services. He choreographed Concerto Grosso in 1945 and was discharged from the Army that December. Even the Army had an influence on his creating choreography! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/José_Limón)

Limon Lineage

In 1928 when Jose moved to New York to study art he began to feel that he couldn't make anything of value because of the medium had been mined out and it was by chance when his girlfriend took him to see the dancer, Harald Kreutzburg perform. NOTE: Kreutzburg was a German dancer and choreographer who trained at the Dresden Ballet School, Kreutzburg also studied dance with Mary Wigman and Rudolf Laban. Apparently, Limon was stunned; "Suddenly, onto the stage, born on the impetus of the heroic rhapsody, bounded an ineffable creature and his partner. Instantly and irrevocably, I was transformed. I knew with shocking suddenness that until then I had not been ALIVE or, rather that I had been unborn... now I did not want to remain on this earth unless I learned to do what this man was doing."

I suppose a big thanks to his girlfriend, Limon started studying all the dance he could. Limon enrolled in the Humphrey-Weidman school. He learned basic technique from Doris Humphrey and pantomime and expression from Weidman. Limon would attribute his primary stylistic influences to Isadora Duncan and Harald Kreutzberg.

Limon was a compassionate individual, who felt deeply the sorrows and injustices visited upon people. His masterpiece, The Moor’s Pavane, created for his company in 1949 and still in the active repertory of many ballet companies today, is a distillation of the Othello story reduced to four characters: Othello, Iago, Desdemona and her servant. It is a model of economy in its swift delineation of the characters and the essential conflict. Its power derives from the clarity and brevity with which it is presented. The work is a tribute to the effect Doris Humphrey had on Limon. She was his constant editor, always ready to help him look for the essential in movement, and to reach for the most direct mode of expression. In the piece none of the characters ever leave the stage. Limon knew he couldn't get all the politics and details of the play into his piece. What interested him particularly was the subject of jealousy and the use of the pavane (a slow, stately dance from the 16th century, probably originating in Italy). He liked the formality and ceremony of the pavane at the center of the stage. In the corner of our minds and hearts lies the drama. The pavane never ends regardless of what is happening: A court dance is transformed into a daily dance.

Watch Jose!-- Moor's Pavane Exceprt--

"THE FORM IS THE MESSAGE. HE UNDERSTOOD THAT VERY

WELL. HE HAD A FANTASTIC SENSE OF FORM."

"Jose always knew what he wanted," Condodina said. (Condodina was a member of the Limon company in the 1960s and early 1970s, the last generation of dancers who worked with Limon.) "He saw us as instruments but would adapt his vision to our DNA. Often there were conversations back and forth about you as an instrument and his goal. His works adapt well to different people. In setting his dances, it is important to be as open-minded as he was."

Interesting!! Etude, a three minute solo male exercise in Limon's movement vocabulary, created by company artistic director, Carla Maxwell for the 2002 Winter Olympics dance education series, emphasized upward, searching gestures and flowing turns, where the arms seemed to become entangled in the vortex of the turn.

Take a look: http://www.limon.tv/