The Limón Dance Company is in the midst of a NYC season at The Joyce Theater, kicking off the company’s 80th anniversary celebration. The season, running through this Sunday, October 19, is a bold, international program honoring not only the revolutionary modern choreographer and company founder José Limón but also unique artistic voices of today and the continuation of Limón’s legacy.
The program opens with Limón’s 1942 solo Chaconne, a meditation on form, dignity and the elevation of the male dance figure in modern dance. In this performance, however, the piece is reimagined for an ensemble of former and current Limón Company dancers, bringing together artists who have shaped the company across decades. Chaconne is accompanied by live music.
Next on the program is a new reconstruction (by current Artistic Director Dante Puleio) of Limón’s The Emperor Jones, a work from 1956 which was inspired by Eugene O’Neill’s play and that explores authority, vulnerability and the weight of self-mythology. This current reconstruction of the work, with updated costuming and staging, is the first in its history to feature a mixed-gender corps, speaking to today’s audiences while also remaining true to Limón’s emotional truth.
The evening concludes with Jamelgos, a world premiere from Mexican choreographer Diego Vega Solorza that explores and reflects on masculinity and the inherited legacies of gender interpretation in Mexican culture. Vega Solorza’s choreography is personal and urgent, and Jamelgos is set to an original score by contemporary American composer Ebe Oke. This piece falls under the José Limón Dance Foundation’s mission to foster U.S.-Mexico artistic exchange, and to continue to deepen audience’s understanding of gender, expression and the shared histories that connect us all.
Here, Dance Informa speaks with Limón Company dancers Savannah Spratt, a 10-year company member and performer in all three program works; and Johnson Guo, a New York native who is featured in The Emperor Jones as The Emperor.
What brought you to the Limón Company, and in what way(s) do you feel at home in the company and in dancing José Limón’s choreography?
Savannah Spratt
“I was introduced to the Limón style while I was a student at UNCSA. During my final year, a small cast lead by former company member Sean Sullivan traveled to NYC to perform Concerto Grosso at the Joyce as part of the foundation’s 70th anniversary celebration. We got to see the company onstage, and I was immediately taken by their storytelling. The expression, integrity and full-bodied commitment to movement brought me to tears. I had never seen anything like it. I knew immediately that I wanted to be immersed in the work and was lucky enough to be hired through an audition shortly after graduating in 2016. In the almost 10 years since, this work and its values have shaped me into the person and performer I am today, along with introducing some of my closest friends, supporters, teachers and inspirations. This company is my artistic home, and this work is the guiding path. I feel safe to experiment daily, to continue questioning and changing and learning and growing into my full self through this work.”
Johnson Guo
“In my freshman year at SUNY Purchase, I was given the opportunity to perform the lead role in one of Limón’s masterworks, Psalm. I had very little exposure to the technique and style, but the raw emotionality and restraint-free movement felt natural. Over the last five years studying Limón’s technique and his choreographies, I have realized that the more I perform José Limón’s works, the more I discover myself as human.”
Savannah, as a company member for the past 10 years, do you feel in some ways like a senior company member? How do you feel you’ve grown – and perhaps even helped others grow into roles and their place in the company – over your time with the company?
Spratt
“Working in this company as a senior member is not a role I take lightly. Entering this world almost 10 years ago, I was extremely fortunate to overlap with some of the best mentors and dancers I had ever met, and their work ethic and humble nature set a tone that I hope to uphold for everyone joining after me. One thing I’ve learned not to shy away from is sharing when I have questions or am struggling to fulfill something in my own form. Chances are, someone else is tackling the same obstacle and has information that will help us both to deepen our understanding. Absorbing from so many different coworkers’ bodies over the years has taught me so much about my own, because everyone entering this work has talent and knowledge that adds to the collective in a unique way.”
You’ll be dancing in all three works during the Joyce season – wow! What is it like going from work to work in this wide ranging program?
Spratt
“Each piece on this program is challenging in a unique way, although I’ve realized ‘concentration’ is the common thread. Chaconne is the most familiar to me, but dancing it surrounded by idols and living members of this epic legacy has made it feel new again. The Emperor Jones requires a simmering intensity but leaves room for improvisation and reaction. Jamelgos necessitates an unparalleled level of focus and precision, tuning into the rhythm of the group to move as one beast.”
Dancing some of Limón’s choreography from 1942 (Chaconne) and 1956 (The Emperor Jones) must be so interesting. How do you feel these pieces has evolved (or not) over the years, and in what ways do you feel these works are still relevant and important for audiences to see?
Guo
“José Limón is a master at telling stories through movement. [In The Emperor Jones], with no words, he can tell you the story of a man so hungry for power that he became that very power he despised and at the end, the community overtakes him. Putting some of the contexts of Eugene O’Neill’s play aside, the story is very human. José Limón always found stories that display humane natures. That and his ability to present stories through movement is why this choreography can still have meaning today.”
Spratt
“The multiple generations coming together [for Chaconne] have highlighted the nuances and adaptations of the choreography over the years. As soloists, the intentions and pathways were honed to make sense for the body bringing it to life in the space. Now that we have collected, it’s clear that the power of this piece has only grown over the 80+ years of its existence. It highlights the beauty and strength that fills each phase of a dancer’s life span, evolving as we do. We have transformed from 21 soloists into one unified being, and that ability to come together is more necessary now than ever.”
Johnson, you’ll be featured in The Emperor Jones as The Emperor – exciting! Can you tell us a bit about that role – its character, any challenges, most rewarding parts?
“Dancing any role of José Limón’s is a journey. It is a very dynamic but yet internal journey that must be visible. That is the most challenging part of playing The Emperor. I had to learn how to display all of my complex internal emotions and the shifts of emotions as I venture through the history that made me The Emperor. It feels very vulnerable, but that vulnerability is what will cause people to question their own. That is what is rewarding.”
Can you tell us a bit about the premiere on the program, Jamelgos? What was it like working with Diego Vega Solorza, and what do you hope audiences will take away from this piece?
Spratt
“Diego created an atmosphere that is unlike anything the company has inhabited before. He has pulled new textures and qualities to the surface and created something that requires complete dedication and focus to achieve. His vision was crystal clear from the start, and I hope that audiences enjoy the ride!”
Do you have a favorite or most fulfilling work on the program?
Spratt
“Chaconne will always be close to my heart! The opportunity to mark this momentous anniversary by collaborating across generations, accompanied by Bach’s music, is an experience that will never be matched. Witnessing dancers in their 80s returning to the stage is proof that love for this piece only strengthens over time.”
Guo
“I am extremely excited for the piece that I am not part of, Chaconne. This time not as a solo, but as a multi-generational over 20-person ensemble to celebrate one of Limón’s most elegant solos.”
What’s it like kicking off the company’s 80th anniversary with this Joyce season and program? What are you most looking forward to?
Guo
“I am most looking forward to seeing the shock from everyone seeing the direction that the company is going toward. A will to respect the artistry of José Limón, and a will to further the artistry of future generations of dance artists.”
Spratt
“It is thrilling, as always, to return to the Joyce! This is the theater where I first witnessed the beauty of the company, and each time we pass through the doors of this sacred space, I’m reminded of how incredible it is to contribute to this ongoing legacy.
The magnificence of this company is that it is not one fixed entity or aesthetic. Our reimagining of historic works and boundary-pushing commissions continue to move the field forward. If you think you know Limón, be prepared for a re-introduction each time you see a performance.”
For tickets and more information, visit www.joyce.org/performances/limon-dance-company-zmh4.
By Laura Di Orio of Dance Informa.
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