Black and white photo of José Limón mid-jump with his back arched, chest raised, and head thrown back, casting a shadow on the wall behind him.
José Limón in Hymn, 1934. Photo by H. Hewitt. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

On the 75th anniversary of the Limón Dance Company, join us for The Mestizo as Ambassador: José Limón and the Transculturation of American Modern Dance, a new installation that celebrates Mexican American dancer and choreographer José Limón, one of the most prolific exponents of modern dance in the 20th century. While American modern dance was perceived in Limón’s lifetime as universal and individual with no debt to any particular culture, recent dance scholarship has revealed the depth of the contributions of artists from African, Asian, Indigenous, and Latinx communities to the foundations of modern dance. This exhibition explores how Limón’s choreography grapples with humanistic themes that extend beyond borders and identity  through his own mestizo cultural lens, underlining the importance of the immigrant voice in the development of the ultimate “American” art form, modern dance. 

Read our in-depth Library Guide featuring images from the exhibition

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