Racism is an issue that has long been influential in almost every field of work in the wWesternworld and dance is not excluded from this. Two choreographers who fought the stigma against people of color in dance are Jose Limon and Alvin Ailey. They are two influential choreographers who transformed the face of dance. Both men were racial minorities in the white-dominated field of dance in the United States of America. Both men took their heritage and cultural backgrounds and used them to influence their bodies of work. Both men trained under some of the masters of Modern dance and developed their styles and eventually their own dance companies. Both men took the events that were occurring in the world and turned them into art. Their legacies in art continue to shape dance. Both men, however, have fundamental differences like their work and the legacies they left. Limon worked more in the concrete while Ailey tended to choreograph pieces that were much more abstract and conceptual. Despite their differences as artists, Jose Limon and Alvin Ailey shaped the world of dance, and their similarities as artists in their training and bodies of work shaped their similar legacies that continue to impact the world.
Jose Limon was born in nineteen o-eight in Mexico. He immigrated to the United States as a child and lived in Los Angeles where he studied painting and music. He moved to New York in nineteen twenty-eight and began dancing with Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. Limon excelled in their company and began choreographing for them as well as for various Broadway performances. At nineteen forty-six he started the Jose Limon company (now Limon cCompany following his service in the United States Army during World War Two where Doris Humphrey served as the artistic director. His works were known for their display of the human spirit and resilience and their highly emotional content. His most rrenownedpieces include Moor’s Pavane, an interpretation of Shakespeare’s Othello popularized by Rudolph Nureyev, Missa Brevis which focuses on the strength of the human spirit in the face of hardships, and La Malinche based on a Mexican folk-tale (Owen).
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Alvin Ailey was born in nineteen thirty-one in Rogers, Texas. He was raised by a single mother meaning they often moved around the United States looking for ways to make a living and support themselves. When Ailey was twelve he and his mother moved to Los Angeles where he fostered his love for the arts, sneaking into theaters to view dance and music acts. A friend introduced Ailey to Lester Horton, the only director who would accept African American students at that time, where he developed and flourished as a Modern dancer. At nineteen fifty-three when Horton died, Ailey took over the company and began his career as a choreographer but the company eventually dissolved without Horton holding it together. Alvin Ailey continued to prosper despite this setback and trained under artists such as Martha Graham and Katherine Dunham. At nineteen fifty-eight he began the Alvin Ailey dance company and by the nineteen seventies, it had become one of the top dance companies in the world. His most famous pieces include Cry which details the journey from slavery to emancipation, Revelations which at the highs and lows of the human soul, and Memoria which was inspired by the death of Alvin Ailey’s friend Joyce Trisler (Earley).
Alvin Ailey and Jose Limon are similar in their works, their foundations as dancers, and their legacies as artists. Alvin Ailey and Jose Limon were both racial minorities living in times of great racial discrimination in the United States. They both used their experience as minorities to create art Jose Limon created multiple pieces based on Mexican Folklore and Alvin Ailey often choreographed works on the African American experience. Both men used personal experiences to inspire their dancing and they both portrayed similar themes in their dances. Jose Limon fought in World War Two and this experience influenced many of his works including Missa Brevis which has been interpreted by many to be about a recovering world following World War Two. Likewise, Alvin Ailey was inspired by events in his life to create his pieces and used the racial discrimination he and his ancestors had experienced to create pieces such as Cry. Both men also looked at the triumphs and tragedies of the human condition and sought to create art that inspired them. Both men are also similar in that they trained under the greats of Modern dance. Jose Limon under Lester Horton and Doris Humphrey and Alvin Ailey under Martha Graham and Katherine Dunham. Both men in turn greatly influenced the art of modern dance. They both started major dance companies that are still active today and both men choreographed pieces that rrenownedthroughout the world to this day. These men also broke barriers in the dance world with Alvin Ailey bringing dance to African American communities and Jose Limon acting as an arts ambassador for the United States to Latin America.
Alvin Ailey and Jose Limon are different in that, while they had similar influences in their works, there are some fundamental differences, and their legacies while both iconic differ in certain aspects. Jose Limon often took concrete stories and interpreted them through dance. He adapted multiple Mexican folktales as well as other stories such as Moore’s Pavane based on Shakespeare’s Othello. His works were often character-driven with distinct sets and costumes. Alvin Ailey on the other hand focused on more abstract concepts in his works. He rarely had a set storyline and more so looked at emotions and ideals. Many of his works, such as Revelations deal with the human condition but look at it from a nonconcrete point of view. Ailey’s pieces often had no distinct sets and if they did they were not recognizable images from the real world and his costumes tended to be plain and similar for all dancers within the piece. The legacies of these two men are also different. Alvin Ailey became known as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century and while Limon was also highly influential, he was viewed by many to be old-fashioned and less revolutionary, and thus his imprint on dance is not as great. On the other hand, Limon technique is still taught internationally while Ailey did not create a set technique and often utilized the dance structure of Martha Graham in his pieces.
Jose Limon and Alvin Ailey opened doors for racial minorities in dance and furthered the art of Modern dance. These two men differ in certain aspects of their works and legacies but overall their similarities outweigh what differences they do have. These men created pieces that inspired the world around them and made beauty out of the horrors of racial prejudice and war. These men were fostered by the founders of Modern dance and in turn, drove this art form and increased its depth. These men brought the arts to those who otherwise would not have been exposed and in turn made the world a better place. Both men created legacies that live on today and continue to inspire dancers and choreographers.
Works Cited
- Earley, Charity Adams. “Alvin Ailey”. Black History Now, June 8th, 2010. http://blackhistorynow.com/alvin-ailey/
- Owen, Norton. “Jose Limon”. Dance Heritage Coalition, 2012. http://www.danceheritage.org/treasures/limon_essay_owen.pdf
- “Revelations”. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. https://www.alvinailey.org/performances/repertory/revelations
- “Missa Brevis”. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. https://www.alvinailey.org/performances/repertory/missa-brevis-1958
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