As part of the Arts Mexico festival at the Hopkins Center, the Limón Dance Company will celebrate its 60th Anniversary at Dartmouth this weekend. The dancing troupe is known for its unique choreography.
Photo: Courtesy of cvpa.csun.com
Following the Jarocho Festival, the Hopkins Center will host the Limón Dance Company as the second part of Arts Mexico on Friday, March 31, and Saturday, April 1.
Founded by the celebrated dancer Jose Limón, who was born in Mexico and began his career in New York City, the Limón Dance Company is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Limón himself studied under Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman before eventually founding the Limón Company in 1946. He is currently regarded as one of the most significant pioneers of modern dance.
To commemorate the Company’s anniversary, one of Limón’s star students was commissioned to create a new piece in the memory of the Company’s founder. Lar Lubovitch, currently one of the leading choreographers in the United States, rose to the occasion and created the dramatic and vibrant “Recordare” (“Remember”).
The Cleveland Plain Dealer said of the new piece, “Lubovitch’s choreography takes Limón’s organic movement language into a new realm of theatricality and magical realism.”
The choreography was inspired by the dances that Limón created in the early 1950s, which in turn were inspired by Mexican painters and composers.
Contextually, “Recordare” draws on the Day of the Dead, the Mexican holiday in remembrance of the departed.
The Limón Dance Company will also perform the most famous of Limón’s creations, which is titled “The Moor’s Pavane” and is based on the Shakespeare play “Othello.”
The dramatic and sweeping movements of the piece, along with the intricate depiction of the play’s passion and betrayal caused it to become ” at one time the most frequently performed modern dances in the country,” according to The Washington Post.
In addition to the performances, a documentary film on the life and work of Jose Limón will be shown in the Faculty Lounge of the Hopkins Center on Thursday, March 30 at noon.
The Company will also hold an Advanced Level Dance Master Class at Dartmouth on Saturday, April 11 at 2 p.m. The class will focus specifically on the organic Limón technique, which can apply to a range of choreographic styles.
The Limón Dance Company will perform in the Moore Theater at 8 p.m. on both Friday, March 31 and Saturday, April 1.
