IN THIS ISSUE:

All interviews conducted by John Claassen, Editor

Photo: NEA. In November 2008, the José Limón Dance Foundation was awarded the National Medal of Arts, the nations highest honor of artistic excellence!!

*Funding for into My Heart's House has been made possible through the Joyce Theater Foundation’s 25^thanniversary commissioning program; the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.

*Rooms was made possible thanks to major support from the National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpiece: Dance initiative, administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts. Additional support provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; American Express and The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.

Photo: José Limón's The Traitor by Beatriz Schiller

JC: Limón Dance Company, in collaboration with the New York State Council on the Arts and Skidmore College was the impetus behind New York State's long term dance residency program. Looking back over 26 years what has been the major impact of this program on the company and for the dance community in general?

CM: These residencies have given many companies a chance to work outside of the usual struggles "at home" and provide a nurturing environment to create and work. For the communities it is a chance for folks who may never have an opportunity to interact with dancers, to do so right in their own back yard. It's a marvelous exchange for everyone, and does a great job at demystifying the role and work of an artist for a "lay" audience.

JC: What is it about the Brockport facilities and setting that have made it a site of choice recently?

CM: Brockport has one of the most wonderful facilities for dance in NY State. They have 5 magnificent new rehearsal halls, and lovely theater. The campus is a bit secluded but this is also what gives it an atmosphere that promotes focus and concentration. The Brockport faculty is very welcoming and we feel at home and connected to the residents of the community as well.

JC: In what ways will this residency differ from past years?

CM: In every residency we hope to impart a sense of self confidence in the students to find their own voice and a greater understanding of what the Limón legacy, technique and philosophy is. We also offer several different levels of coaching and mentoring to the participants, who differ each year, depending on their dance experience and interests. This year we have a new course entitled "Dancers are Musicians are Dancers/New Repertory". This course will explore the dynamic collaboration between music and dance as partners by studying Limón’s musical choices and how he used them in his own compositions. A new work will be set on the students using principles from these discoveries.

JC: Having first joined the company in 1965 and appointed Artistic Director in 1978, your work as a dancer, teacher and choreographer has taken place during one of the most dynamic periods in the development of American and International modern dance. Why do you feel the Limon legacy of work and the movement vocabulary it embodies remains so important for students of dance today to know and to study?

CM: I truly believe that the whole Limón package (technique/repertory/philosophy of theater) trains the complete artist. It gives you a ground base that not only prepares you to move expressively and clearly, but it also imparts a point of view about life and the world. It is a positive and hopeful aesthetic, beautifully rich in dynamics, craft of composition and theater, and promotes an understanding that we are human beings first, and that our job is to communicate that humanity in everything we do. We are talking about the basic necessities of life which nourish our souls as well as our minds and bodies.

JC: For any potential students thinking of participating in a Limón summer residency, what is the most important quality they need to bring to the work at hand?

CM: A strong work ethic, an open mind and a sense of humor; and their own joy in being curious and being alive.

The Limón Dance Company's summer residency at SUNY College at Brockport is supported by The New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Photo: José Limón's Missa Brevis by Scott Groller

JC: What was the biggest challenge in working with dancers unfamiliar with the Limón style for two weeks, and on the other hand the greatest rewards?

AV: The forty participating dancers came from all over Poland - Gdansk, Lwow, and Poznan, in addition to students from the National Academy in Warsaw where we were teaching. They ranged in age from as young as 14 to about 19, and there was a group of teachers as well. It was all very new to them, but they worked very hard. Rigorous ballet training provided a wonderful discipline as well as powerful, flexible and articulate legs, but Limón technique was a very different aesthetic and they responded with growing enthusiasm. I saw amazing progress!

JC: I Know that you have been to Poland before, and that your father John Vachon took many memorable photographs in Poland following World War II. What are the most striking changes you have noticed since you were there last?

AV: I was last in Poland immediately after the fall of communism, and while there was great hope in the air then, now I see a much more prosperous country. Fancy cars, high fashion, sushi bars, everyone with a cell phone just like in the rest of Europe. But most impressive to me is how they have continued to rebuild the many historic buildings that were destroyed in World War Two.

JC: Do you feel there is a strong modern dance movement taking place in the country similar to those in other parts of Europe?

AV: I didn’t have the opportunity to see any contemporary dance; my contacts were the students and teachers in the Academies. Probably contemporary dance here is more of an underground, revolutionary movement, like it was at one time in the United States - daring dancers wanting to break with tradition, trying new things. The students from Poznan have clearly had the most exposure to contemporary training.

JC: In comparison with other intensives offered by the Limón Institute what made this one unique, and do you feel it resulted in a heightened interest in Limón and the repertory?

AV: With the support of the American Embassy, this workshop was offered free of charge to the students. It is too soon to know what the impact will be. I so wish they could see the company perform - that would be so inspiring! Everyone’s tears and effusive thanks on the last day, and the outstanding performances of Limón repertory in our final showing, certainly made us feel that we had made important contributions to many separate individuals. They begged us to return, and there is great interest in knowing more about Limón, the company and the repertory.