Noticias
Commemoration of 108 years of his birth on January 12
José Limón´s Mexican origins are relevant to the development of his dancing proposal
January 11, 2016The iconic style and technique that emphasized body movement to express the complexity of the human condition placed José Limón as a fundamental reference dance.
One hundred and eight years after his birth (Culiacan, Sinaloa, January 12, 1908 New Jersey, December 2, 1972) and although he belonged to the American modern dance school, his Mexican origins became relevant in his proposal.
In order to avoid the Mexican Revolution, José Arcadio Limón's family emigrated to America in 1918, where after finishing high school and art school he discovered his talent for dance in New York City.
Although he was 20 when he started dancing, this factor drove him to develop in a short time his physical and expressive skills, and enter the only school that accepted men led by the pioneers of modern dance: Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman
The originality of his style came from the influence of three great cultures: Aztec, Spanish and American.
The director of the National Center for Research, Documentation and Information of the Jose Limon Dance (CENIDI-Dance), Elizabeth Cámara, said that for José Limón were determining the life stories during his transfer to the United States aboard a railroad that was even attacked by revolutionary troops and what his family told about Mexican traditions and customs.
"He was marked by these issues that caused part of his choreography which coincided with the nationalist art production that took place in our country in the visual arts and music”.
Margarita Tortajada Quiroz, in her work; Jose Limon y las masculinidades hegemónicas: La pavana del Moro, said that as many migrants he was forced to join the American culture and simultaneously to claim his Mexican roots.
"The Mexican heritage is not only relevant in Limón in terms of his conception and culture, but of his own appearance. This was very attractive, because Jose was a dark, tall, beautiful and powerful dancer”.
John Martin described him in 1948: "There is no other dancer you can compare. He has a magnificent beauty, different from Hollywood ideal. His face is rough, sculptural, sensitive and mature. He has a great body structure and moves with the strength and agility of an animal race. His gesture is simple and wide. The dynamics and sentences are executed within a large control. His reactions are deeply musical and a total sincerity of feelings motivates every movement and emotional intensity is projected eloquently. He conquests a difficult repertoire with vital expertise and compelling. "
José Limón delved into the deeper problems of dance, using a body and visual language to illustrate the most intense emotional states.
His specialized techinque in the fall of legs and arms, as well as his natural and expressive gesture of nobility were some of the characteristics of who in 1964 was named artistic director of American Dance Theater in New York.
In the text, El lenguaje de la danza (The language of dance), translated and published in the newspaper, El Universal in 1960, Jose Limon says that dance has a basic principle: "It must have its vital power and strength in the breath of the lungs, in the heartbeats. It must be intense and fully human, otherwise it will be gymnastic movements and the dance will be mechanic and emptiness"
Even though he created an universal discourse in choreographies considered masterpieces as Dos preludios (Two Preludes) (Koven, 1931) and Danza de la muerte (Dance of Death) (1937), reaching abstract dances like Los alados (Winged (1966) and Los olvidados (The Forgotten) (1970), dancer and choreographer also inspired himself by Mexican themes.
He had a great connection to his hometown (Sinaloa), culture and people he felt part of his life. “There is no other male dancer that can compare with Jose Limon”, Héctor Chávez, founder and artistic director of the International José Limón Dance Festival said, introducing the Spanish translation of the book, Memoria inconclusa de José Limón, (Memory unfinished of José Limón).
José Limón intended to show the American public, Latin American history and culture, as evidenced by the works: Danzas mexicanas (Mexican Dances) (1939), La Malinche (1949), Ritmo jondo (1953) and Carlota (1972)
The researcher Margarita Tortajada Quiroz notes that he was a supporter of the left wing in the thirties, as he danced, for example, as a revolutionary in its Danzas mexicanas (Mexican Dances) (1939). Like Graham, his work was changed (in the context of McCarthyism and depending on his expressive needs) to a new type of production where initially appeared American and Mexican themes.
In 1946 he founded his own dance company in the United States under the name of José Limón Dance Company, with Doris Humphrey as artistic director.
This was the first group of American modern dance going on tour abroad, marking a precedent for other companies such as Graham's, Taylor and Cunningham, to present themselves in international fora.
Mexico did not separate from the life of Jose Limon when in 1951 he was invited to the capital by Miguel Covarrubias, then director of the Academy of Dance of the National Institute of Fine Arts. During that period he had the opportunity to choreography with music by Carlos Chavez and set by Covarrubias.
It is the case of Los cuatro soles (The four suns), symphonic piece about the Aztec creation myth, from which only the photographic record remains.
Also, it is the work Tonantzintla, successfully premiered on March 30, 1951, which is inspired by the Mexican Baroque architecture. With music by Fray Antonio Soler and set and costumes by Miguel Covarrubias, in the piece was observed as a backdrop a projection of the nave of the indigenous church, Santa Maria Tonantzintla that evoked a remote past that the public saw with nostalgia.
José Limón died on December 2, 1972 in the city of New Jersey leaving an important choreographic legacy. His works have been installed in about 59 countries and his technique is taught in more than 200 universities and institutions devoted to dance.
The Jose Limon Dance Company celebrates on 2016 seven decades of existence, demonstrating that his work transcends time and remains relevant through the dramatic expression and technical skill that characterized his work.
Currently the group led by Carla Maxwell is committed to produce and present programs that balance the classics of modern dance with commissions and acquisitions of contemporary choreographers, resulting in a wide-ranging repertoire.
Mexico,Distrito Federal
