Limon Dance Brings Two Different Programs to The Joyce This Spring

Celebrating its 75th Anniversary Season live in NYC from April 19- May 1, 2022 at the Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10011, the Limón Dance Company continues to honor the legacy of its co-founders through the preservation, reconstruction, and reimagination of their work and gives audiences a glimpse into the future of the Limón Dance Company.
DANTE PULEIO Artistic Director

The company includes Joey Columbus, Terrence D. M. Diable, MJ Edwards, Mariah Gravelin, Johnson Guo, Deepa Liegel, Nicholas Ruscica, Frances Lorraine Samson, Jessica Sgambelluri, Savannah Spratt, Lauren Twomley, Robert M. Valdez, Jr., B. Woods.

Founded in 1946 by José Limón and Doris Humphrey, the Limón Dance Company has been at the vanguard of American modern dance since its inception. In Dante Puleio's first New York season as Artistic Director, with two weeks of performances and two programs, one each week, the Company brings world premieres, Limón works as they have never been seen before and beloved modern dance classics.

The company takes you on a journey through Limón's past and into the present. Going back in time to one of Limón's earliest works, Danzas Mexicanas pays homage to his heritage through 5 historic Mexican figures that shaped his cultural identity. The work has never been performed by the Limón Dance Company, having little footage and only José Limón's writings and drawings from his personal "Libro de Ideas" to aid in the re-imagination of his original 1939 solos.

"In recent years the place of the immigrant artist in American dance has been receiving a long overdue examination and there finally seems to be a recognition of the contributions of the Latinx dance community to the construction of modern dance. The work is a fertile site to consider both of these diasporic issues. Limón's own text gets to the heart of that through his definition of the mestizaje identity," said Linda Murray Curator for the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the New York Public Library.

Further exploring the idea of legacy, the company revisits Doris Humphrey's glorious Air for the G String, and returns to the original score for Limón's 1967 masterpiece, Psalm, which hasn't been heard in over 40 years. To honor Limón as the greatest dancer of his time, the Company will be joined by preeminent dancers of this generation to perform his iconic solo, Chaconne. To truly encompass the entire timeline of Limón's work the Limon Dance Company will be performing for the first time, Waldstein Sonata, the choreographer's last creation before his death in 1972.

"Part of my mission in carrying the Limón legacy forward is revealing more about José Limón, why he made the works he made and how we can identify with him, his struggles, and ultimately his work," said Artistic Director Dante Puleio.

The Limón Dance Company is entering into a new era of celebration and creativity to continue preserving José Limón's legacy. This season will present two choreographers whose explosive work underscores Limón's ethos of cultural identity and hope. Only One Will Rise, a new commission by Burkina Faso's Olivier Tarpaga, who, like Limón, grew up in a musical family during a revolution, celebrates the resilience of the human spirit. In the second world premiere, Migrant Mother, Mexico's emerging talent Raúl Taméz brings to life stories of the trials and triumphs of Mexico's Indigenous peoples. This season will highlight Limón's impact on the modern dance world through iconic works, newly uncovered treasures, and exciting new voices, while carrying his vision into the future.

Learn more at https://www.joyce.org/performances/limon-dance-company.

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