How Did Jose Limón Changed My Life

always been known for the risky and powerful movements which are often why dancers retire from the company. The dancer’s movements were often very intense and emotive, such as the “throws” across the stage in which the dancers would, almost violently, launch themselves across the stage in different forms (leaps, falls and flips to name a few). Another section where the movements were emotive is where the dancers were thrusting their hips in different positions to perhaps show sexuality in “self”.

Dance began as a form of communication and storytelling. Thousands of years ago dancing served as a way for people to tell a story and helped distract themselves of the hardships they faced. Furthermore, dance was a form of storytelling through communication, which then turned into using storytelling through dance as entertainment. According to the History World, many dancers during the BC time danced in front of only a few people to get a story across. That later turned into hundreds of thousands of people as dance was used by many. Today, dance is also a form of entertainment and storytelling, but in a modern sense. However, today perfection and technique are stressed more than they were in the past. Yet, the passion for dance has not changed. Many dancers who share this passion also have many of the same qualities. Among a discourse community of trained dancers, one expects to find individuals who are healthy and active athletes, expect perfection from themselves through competition, and religiously attend dance performances.

Whether we look at a romantic ballet like La Sylphide or a classical ballet such as Sleeping Beauty, audiences are constantly mesmerized by the gracefulness and weightlessness of the ballet dancers. They seem to defy the laws of physics, which is greatly possible due to the use of the pointe shoe. However, many masterworks that were created in the Romantic era did not solely rely on the pointe shoe to help convey messages. Instead, the choreography, dancers, scenic elements, subject matter, and music all helped shaped masterworks such as La Sylphide, Napoli, and Giselle. Similarly, in the Classical era, these elements all played a role in shaping famous ballets like La Bayadere, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. But once we take a closer look at these ballets from the Classical era, we can see how much ballet evolved. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the Romantic era was the stepping stone for this pure art form that we have been able to preserve for more than 160 years.

Amalia Hernandez was born in 1917, and was the famous creator of Ballet Folklorico. Classical Ballet was Hernandez’s first passion, in which she started taking lessons as a young girl. Later in her life, she decided to specialize in Native American dance. Ballet Folklorico was first founded in 1952. The company was a huge success, and soon became the largest and most popular dance company in the entire world. More than 60 regions of Mexico were incorporated into her performances. Amalia Hernandez’s work and style incorporated many different cultures and themes. Many dances were fiesta themed and incorporated beautiful different colors and costumes. Fiesta theme performances were fun and different to watch. The vibrant colors and creativity made them unique and festive. A great deal of Mexican history was also incorporated in Hernandez’s work as well.

He started his career in the Cleveland Play House Curtain Pullers children's theatre program in the early 1940s and started to appear in early productions such as Grandmother Sly Boots, Jack Of Tarts, and a lead role in a winning production called On Borrowed Time. In 1966 he originated the role of the Master Of Ceremonies in the broadway musical called Cabaret which he won a tony

Who: One choreographer that draw my attention is Martha Graham. Particularly, when I watched her dance ‘HERETIC’, I was emotional.

     Along with dancing and choreographing, Tamiris also founded dance companies. In 1930, she helped organize the Dance Repertory Theatre, where other choreographers, such as Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman, were joined together to create modern dance pieces. She served as the president of the company for the first two years of its existence. She also served as the

Jane Desmond introduces her article, “Embodying Difference: Issues in Dance and Cultural Studies,” by describing a dance that readers can picture as the dance of tango in their minds. This helps lead to her connecting dance, or body movement, with cultural studies and social identities. In her article, Desmond focuses on connecting how dance and body movement can be portrayed differently in social identities, such as race, class, gender, nationality, and sexuality.

Watching a video of a dance piece called “The Moroccan Project,” choreographed by Alonzo King was quite impressive. Living in San Francisco and taking dance classes brought me to Lines Ballet which is King’s dance studio. I have seen a great deal of different types of dance at the studio waiting for my Ballet classes and there are some great dancers. It comes as no surprise that Alonzo would have such great dancers. It appears that Alonzo King is exploring different cultures in dance in Contemporary Ballet. His near-perfect choreography is articulate, passionate, and graceful- he brings diversity in dance to San Francisco and other parts of the world. This piece articulates the expression of the two dancers coming together yet dancing apart at times- it is a fusion of several different types of dances into one using video editing to create a story about the coming together of two individuals.

important foundation in understanding the broader scope of how dance can be seen as a

Renowned choreographer Alonzo King is the Balanchine of a new style of dance, his style of dance, a style shying away from the expected and catapulting its audience into a state of wonderment. Alonzo King uses sharp lines intertwined with severe movements all engaging a classical technique in order to create movements, unseen to the dance world. King’s impressive résumé includes having trained with a number of world-renowned ballet companies, and setting works on an even more substantial number of companies, along with establishing his own celebrated company: Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet in San Francisco, California.

According to the website Biography, “Mexican-born dancer and choreographer José Limón is recognized as an important figure in the American modern dance movement of the 1930s-1960s” (Biography). Jose Limon is one of the Ballet dancer sand choreographers in the 1930s. Even though he is considered to be a Ballet dancer, Limon is well-known for performing and choreographing a great amount of Modern Dance piece. Jose Limon is significant to me because he is the first Modern Dance choreographer I know, and his representative work “the Moor’s Pavane” impressed me the most due to the plots and the expressive movements in this piece. After watching the video “the Moor’s Pavane,” it raised my interest on Jose Limon; it also motivated me to do a deeper research on the information about Modern Dance. Jose Limon, one of the pioneers of Modern Dance, his Limon Technique has brought a significant contribution to the field of Modern Dance in the 20th century.

The history of modern dance has seen many great dancers and pioneers alike, as well as changes that continues to shape the art of dance form that is seen today. From being an art form of spectacle that focused more on the dancers’ clothing rather than the dance itself, to going through a time where narrative was emphasized, and to incredible athleticism achieved both by men and women, dance has evolved into something that is so much more powerful and diverse than centuries ago. As dance continued to be more prominent, some great choreographers utilized it to achieve greater goals that related to the issues of that current time. The pioneer Martha Graham created dances that contained uncommon

Dance was not a new element in the theatre realm. It had been used for years as a way of interpretation of feelings of a character that the writer or director wanted the audience to feel visually. Through movement, expression of those feelings was portrayed and helped the audience to somewhat

Dance is an ever evolving form of art; in much the same way that one can categorize and differentiate between eras and styles of architecture one can also do so with dance. These eras at times have sharp delineations separating them from their antecedents, other times the distinction is far more subtle. Traditional forms of dance were challenged by choreographers attempting to expand the breadth and increase the depth of performance; preeminent among such visionaries was Seattle born dancer and choreographer Mark Morris. Mark Morris' began as one of the millions of hopeful individuals attempting to simply make a career in dance; he not only succeeded but managed to have a lasting effect on the entire landscape of dance.