REPERTORY

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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.

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.

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.

Transfiguration (1976)

Choreography: Susanne Linke
Music: Franz Schubert

A hauntingly beautiful solo performed by Limón principal Roxane D'Orléans Juste.

La Cathedrale Engloutie (1975)

Choreography: Jiří 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 5^th century 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.

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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

Chrysalis (2010)

Choreography: Jonathan Fredrickson
Music: Marcos Galvany

Inspired by the Oracle of Delphi and those who are chosen vessels throughout history.

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.

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.

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.

Oneero (1998)

(excerpt from Heartbeats)
Choreography: Donald McKayle
Music: Manos Hajodakis

An infectiously ebullient solo performed by Limón principal Roxane D'Orléans Juste.

Heartbeats (1997)

Choreography: Donald McKayle
Music: Traditional

Heartbeats celebrates in movement, songs that flow from the deep regions of the heart, songs that sing eternal lyrics, songs that cross the boundaries of language and culture, songs that, whether vernacular or noble, resonate with the rawness and veracity of human emotion.

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Rooms (1955)

Choreography: Anna Sokolow
Music: Kenyon Hopkins

Sokolow's seminal work about urban alienation re-enters the repertory Winter 2008, with help from the American Masterpieces Dance Project.

Chaconne (1971)

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.