Repertory
Come With  Me (2012) Inspired by the music Bombardino, Ladies in White, Dreams and Freedom DanceChoreography: Rodrigo Pedernairas Music: Paquito D’Rivera View Video |
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The Moor’s Pavane (1949) Choreography: José Limón Music: Henry Purcell, arranged by Simon Sadoff Cited by critics the world over as José Limón’s masterpiece, it captures the drama and passion of Shakespeare’s Othello in a timeless portrayal of love, jealousy, and betrayal. View Video |
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There is a Time (1956) Choreography: José Limón Music: Norman Dello Joio “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes.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. View Video |
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A Choreographic Offering (1964) Choreography: José Limón Music: Johann Sebastian Bach 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. View Video |
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Transfiguration (1976) Choreography: Susanne Linke Music: Franz Schubert A hauntingly beautiful solo performed by Limón principal Roxane D’Orléans Juste. View Video |
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La Cathedrale Engloutie (1975) Choreography: Jirí Kylián Music: Claude Debussy The undertone of this ballet is the contrast which is in every human being; the opposition between what one is and what one would like to be; what qualities and talents one has and what one would like to have.Debussy’s composition is inspired by a 5thcentury legend from Brittany. The people built a cathedral on the sea as a symbol of the almighty power that would rule over them. But they did not obey the laws of the church and led a godless life. As a result of this the cathedral disappeared under the sea. Since then the people believe that sometimes at sunrise the cathedral reappears to some chosen ones. The battle between self-imposed laws and order and, at the same time, resistance against these laws is one of the most complex facets of the human character. It is a battle that never ends. View video |
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Dances for Isadora (1971) Choreography: José Limón Music: Frederic Chopin 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. View Video |
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Chrysalis (2010) Choreography: Jonathan Fredrickson Music: Marcos Galvany Inspired by the Oracle of Delphi and those who are chosen vessels throughout history. View video |
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Emperor Jones (1956) Choreography: José Limón Music: Heitor Villa-Lobos In the play by Eugene O’Neill, Jones, a fugitive from a chain gang, sets himself up as emperor of an island domain. He becomes a tyrant, and his mistreatment of his subjects causes them to rebel, hunt him down, and bring him to an ignominious end.“This dance version elaborates on the central theme, that of the superstitious terror of the haunted emperor. In the style of a free fantasy, the dance makes, the dance makes no attempt to adhere to the play’s sequence, but rather seeks to give it another dimension. There are a series of episodes which concern Jones’ visions and hallucinations of his earlier life. There is a prisoner chain-gang, a slave ship, Jones’ first murder, an atavistic African ritual, and his desperate hoax that only his own silver bullet could destroy him. The reduction of a swaggering tyrant to a groveling pitiful figure is one of the great American playwright’s most penetrating and terrifying human portrayals. View Video |
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Missa Brevis (1958) Choreography: José Limón Music: Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály, the Hungarian composer, wrote Missa Brevis in Tempore Bellie at the end of World War II. A Mass in time of war, it was completed under great hardship during the siege of Budapest. Limón’s stirring choreography depicts an indomitable humanity rising up after near destruction. The piece is a memento to cities destroyed during World War II and to those unconquerable qualities in human beings that compel the spirit to rise in hope and to survive. View Video |
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Etude (2002) Choreography: Carla Maxwell Music: Franz Schubert Artistic Director Carla Maxwell’s choreographic tribute to José Limón distills his craft, style, and passion for movement into a short solo. View Video |
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Rooms (1955) Choreography: Anna Sokolow Music: Kenyon Hopkins Sokolow’s seminal work about urban alienation re-entered the repertory in Winter of 2008, with the assistance from the American Masterpieces Dance Project. View Video |
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Chaconne (1942) Choreography: José Limón Music: Johann Sebastian Bach 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. View Video |
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Psalm (1967) Choreography: José Limón Music: Original-Eugene Lester/New Score-John Magnussen “…an evocation of the heroic power of the human spirit, triumphant over death itself…” View Video |
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Mazukas (1958) Choreography: José Limón Music: Frederic Chopin A tribute to the heroic spirit of the Polish people, the work was created in 1958 for three men and four women. Mazurkas was restaged in 1985 for five women and four men, and consists of five solos, three duets, a men’s trio, a women’s quartet, and several group dances. It can be performed with the piano onstage. View Video |
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