"Day on Earth, in critic Margaret Lloyd's words, is an "exquisite pastorale," an objectified telling of man's brief, but self-perpetuating, passage on earth. Shown are life's joys and its trials--the warmth of love and family dependence, the anguish of leave-taking and of death. And throughout there is the theme of work--work as challenge, as necessity, as opportunity, and as solace for grief. Only four dancers are used to relate this saga and it is told in the space of 20 minutes. No more dancers, no more time, it seems clear at the end, are necessary."

Source: Masterpieces by Doris Humphrey and Aaron Copland, John Mueller, November 1, 2007 Originally published in Dance Magazine, February, 1979 

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Doris Humphrey was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1895 and grew up in Chicago. Her father operated a residence home for vaudeville performers called the Palace Hotel, and her mother offered piano lessons. As a girl, Humphrey studied piano, ballet, ballroom dance, Americanized Delsarte and Dalcroze's system of Eurythmics. A talented dancer, she began teaching ballet and interpretive dance to children when she was 15. During the next few years, Humphrey traveled the Santa Fe railroad line with a variety troupe, giving performances to railroad employees of her home-made aesthetic dances and Spanish numbers. When she returned home to Oak Park she began her own studio with her mother as accompaniest and business manager.

By 1931, the Humphrey and Weidman companies and their joint studio/school were firmly established in New York City. With Graham, Humphrey was considered by most critics to be a primary innovator of the new modern dance. Her theory of "fall and recovery"-- and the technique that sprang from it--was the foundation of her teaching method and her choreography. Underlying it, according to Humphrey, was the German philosopher Frederick Nietzsche's idea about the split in the human psyche between each person's Apollonian side (rational, intellectual) and our Dionysian side (chaotic, emotional). The true essence of the modern dance was the movement that happened in between these extremes, which Humphrey labeled "the arc between two deaths."

Source: University of Pittsburg

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The  José Limón Dance Foundation exists to perpetuate the Limón legacy and  its humanistic approach to movement and theater, and to extend the  vitality of that vision into the future, through performance, creation,  preservation and education.

The  José Limón Dance Foundation supports two entities: the Limón Dance  Company, this country’s first modern dance repertory company, and the  Limón Institute, an educational and archival resource center. In our  home-base of New York City, the Limón Institute reaches close to 5,000  students and scholars annually through its education programs (including  Limón4Kids), archival library, and New York City classes and workshops.

Founded  in 1946 by José Limón and Doris Humphrey, the Limón Dance Company has  been at the vanguard of American Modern dance since its inception and is  considered one of the world’s greatest dance companies. Acclaimed for  its dramatic expression, technical mastery and expansive, yet nuanced  movement, the Limón Dance Company illustrates the timelessness of José  Limón’s work and vision. The Company’s repertory, which includes classic  works in addition to new commissions from contemporary choreographers,  possesses an unparalleled breadth and creates unique experiences for  audiences around the world.

Choreographer  and dancer José Limón is credited with creating one of the world’s most  important and enduring dance legacies— an art form responsible for the  creation, growth and support of modern dance in this country. Numerous  honors have been bestowed upon both Limón and the Company he founded  seventy-three years ago in 1946, including most recently the White  House’s 2008 National Medal of Arts for Lifetime Achievement. José  Limón’s story is a powerful vehicle for reaching young people today.  Immigrating to the United States from Mexico in 1918, Limón is  considered one of Mexico’s greatest artistic exports, and a role model  for Latino communities throughout the United States.

Source: The José Limón Dance Foundation

More information: www.limon.nyc

Specialists in the publishing and distribution of dance books and dance videos for over 35 years, with a list of over 500 dance related titles. We publish under the imprint Dance Horizons and distribute for The Dance Notation Bureau and Dance Books Ltd. In March of 2000 we launched a new imprint to publish books of general interest, Elysian Editions, with The Magic Of Provence: Pleasures of Southern France by Yvone Lenard. Visit our Elysian Editions pages to see Ms. Lenard's books as well as other titles under this imprint.  

Source: Princeton Book Co. Publishers

More information: https://www.dancehorizons.com