Jose Limon

"American dance is not merely a style or idiom. It is a potent idea. When it's contemporary personalities retire, the idea will persist."
-Jose Limon

I just finished researching Jose Limon. He lived from 1908 to 1972. He was born in Mexico and emigrated to New York City in 1928, after seeing a dance performance and deciding to dedicate his life to dance. He trained with Humphrey and Weidman for ten years, and formed his own company in 1946. He (surprisingly) asked Doris Humphrey to act as the Artistic Director of his company, and she accepted. His technique is shaped by the drop and rebound idea, and his dances featured weightiness and powerful attack. He was a very "active" choreographer, and choreographed at least one new piece each year. He also spent every summer at the American Dance Festival.





Reflection


Jose is the first dancer/choreographer that I've studied that is from another country, but is still considered to be an American dancer/choreographer. Does everyone consider him an American? Is he a citizen?





Photo Credit: http://www.danceheritage.org/images/limon.jpg

Merce Cunningham

Merce is an interesting person. He received his training in Seattle and then went on to dance with the Martha Graham Company. He founded his own company in 1953. He has done pioneering work in the feilds of video and film. His technique is organic and almost balletic.

Reflection
I want to see one of his performances. He must've received very good training in Seattle to go straight from Seattle to the Martha Graham Company

Doris Humphrey

Doris Humphrey joined the Denishawn Company, where she danced with people like Martha Graham and Charles Weidman. She ended up making a company, studio and school with Charles Weidman. She then developed her technique which included the prominent idea of fall and recovery.

Reflection

After researching Doris, I realize how interesting her life was. I wonder why she became the Artistic Director of the Jose Limon Ensemble... did she have any previous ties to Jose?

Photo Credit: http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/78/10878-004-1AF05DF9.jpg

Ruth St. Denis

I just learned about Ruth St. Denis, another pioneer in Modern Dance. She had (like Isadora Duncan) a rather miscellaneous dance training as a young dancer. She then went into Broadway where she changed her name from Ruth Denis to Ruth St. Denis. After she saw a cigarette poster with an Egyptian Goddess named Isis, she developed an obsession with creating a dance that portrayed this particular goddess. This obsession evolved over time and after creating the Denishawn company with Ted Shawn, and then it dissolving, she focused on religious dances. The biggest accomplishment people link her to is the Denishawn school and how she helped Ted Shawn create Jacob's Pillow.

Reflection
I thought it was interesting to notice the similarities between Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis. I understand that she was known as a modern dancer, but I wonder if people question that because she did so much religious, oriental, and mystical dance. Next I will research Humphrey and Weidman. At some point I also want to look into what non-dancers and dance-enthusiasts think what modern dance is.

Ted Shawn

I briefly researched Ted Shawn, although I already knew a lot about him because of my research on Jacob's Pillow. He started to dance because he was temporarily paralyzed from a bout of diphtheria and his doctor recommended it as physical therapy. I thought this was really interesting. He and Ruth St. Denis created the Denishawn company after they were married, but they separated around fifteen years later and the company dissolved. Ted later danced with his "Men" and they became internationally acclaimed. He worked with Jacob's Pillow for the rest of his life until his death in 1972.

Reflection

I wonder if they had any children, and if they did, did they ever help out at Jacob's Pillow? Next, I will research Ruth St. Denis.

Jacob's Pillow

Jacob's Pillow has a history somewhat like The Bennington School of Dance/The American Dance Festival. It was/is driven by the desire to explore and show the public the wonderful world of Modern Dance. It was started by Ted Shawn in 1930 and since then has evolved from his (and his then-wife Ruth St. Denis) retreat house and private performance space into a center that includes a festival, school, community programs, and an archival systems.

Reflection
I now realize how similar this is to The Bennington School of Dance/ADF. They literally shared a director, Charles Reinhart, for a moderate sized period starting in 1974. I feel very appreciative that this place exists, I will visit it next summer. By researching this, I've learned a little about how dancers/choreographers meet and connect with another. They can meet at places like Jacob's pillow and see each other's works. Next, I will research Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis, for they surfaced in my research and I would like to know more.

The Bennington School of Dance/The American Dance Festival

I decided to research the Bennington School of Dance because it came up in the history of several of the people I have researched so far. It was created in Bennington Vermont in 1934 but was such a success that it spread to Connecticut College and Duke University.

Reflection
How is this program funded? Do they have advertising or does the word get out simply by word of mouth? I am thinking of how wonderful this has been, especially for dancers in the early thirties where there wasn't much support for modern dance. Next, I will research Jacobs Pillow.