Customer Reviews:
Good work in the field of Anthropology.......2000-04-22
Jose Limon has a way of weaving a story into an athropological study that brings the aspect of culture that he is studying to life. He keeps the reader interested by making the stories of his field work part of his studies.
Anyone who is interested in learning about and understanding the life of Tejanos/Mexican-Americans in Texas should read this scholarly work.
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I believe that we are never more truly and profoundly human than when we dance. --José Limón
Though he lived to be 64, it's always seemed that dancer-choreographer José Limón (1908-1972) was snatched from this earth prematurely. For that reason, the appearance of Limón's unfinished biography--which has the same assured, sensitive quality as his dances--is such a treasure.
Limón's writings here tell of his childhood and early adult years. Born in Culiacán, Mexico, the eldest of 12 children, Limón showed great talent as a visual artist from early on. His family moved to the U.S. when he was 7 (first to Arizona, then California), where he attended Catholic school and continued his drawing and painting. It was not until the late '20s, when he moved to New York City to study art, that Limón saw his first dance concert and changed course entirely. "I knew with shocking suddenness that until then I had not been alive or, rather, that I had yet to be born," he writes. With a level of detail that belies his sense of miraculous discovery, he chronicles his work with and appreciation of such 20th-century choreographic masters as Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, Martha Graham, and George Balanchine. The memoir ends just as Limón has formed his own company.
You couldn't ask for better stewardship for these papers, which had been viewable until now only at the dance collection of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The Society of Dance History Scholars, with Lynn Garafola acting as editor, drove this project. Carla Maxwell, the current artistic director of the José Limón Dance Company, wrote the foreword; and Village Voice dance critic Deborah Jowitt penned the introduction. For a short time, at least, Limon lives again. --Jean Lenihan
Book Description
A captivating illustrated autobiography of the early years of a major American choreographer.
Book Description
The idea of crossing the border between the U.S. and "Greater Mexico" has always conjured images of racial hostility and exclusion. In American Encounters, award-winning anthropologist Limon offers an alternative history of attraction and des ire between the U.S. and Mexico that both embraces the Taco Bell chihuahua and envisions hope for the future of border relations. From the writing of Katherine Anne Porter to the life of the late Chicana pop star Selena; from the career of the distinguished Mexican anthropologist Gamio to Henry Cisneros and the 1990 Texas gubernatorial campaign, Limon explores history, literature, film, song, and dance to understand the deeply entwined and ambivalent relationship that has existed between those on both sides of the Rio Grande over the last 150 years. "The beginning of a critical hope fulfilled. Cultural critics can move over and make room, listen up and encounter a Chicano critic who not only speaks about social and symbolic borderlands but who speaks from within the borderlands of race, nation, class , and the Chicano/ Mexican/Gringo imagination. At the end we begin to realize how unfinished the American encounters are." -David Carrasco, author of Quetzalcoatl and the Irony of Empire "Probing beyond cliches and stereotypes, Limon writes with passion and precision." -Gustavo Perez Firmat, author of Do the Americas Have a Common Literature?
Customer Reviews:
Read this provocative, wonderful book: American Encounters........1999-12-20
José E. Limón explores what he calls the "conflicted yet enamoured" relations between Greater Mexico and the United States through a series of encounters - real and imagined - between Mexicans, including Mexican Americans, and Anglos.
Limón sets the scene with a surprising, original comparison of Mexico and the U.S. South. Both were based on agricultural economies, slow to industrialize, poor, and defeated in major wars. The winners stigmatized the losers as culturally inferior. But the artists and intellectuals of both the U.S. South and Greater Mexico reversed the negative stereotypes assigned them. The "losers" didn't see themselves as degraded, but rather "projected a profoundly eroticized and affirming vision of their cultures as more bodily intense, inherently `artistic,' and sensuously spiritual." How these images change over time, who is doing the changing and for what purposes, are themes of this complicated, rewarding book.
Going to the movies with Dr. Limón suggests that, at least on the big screen, we've come a long way. In 1953, High Noon presented a strong, ethical and morally superior Helen Ramirez, a woman loved and desired by the sheriff Will Kane, but to whom he lacks the moral courage to commit himself. Helen Ramirez, as town madam, is politically and economically a step above the sexy "señoritas" Anglo cowboys lusted after in popular culture, but still marginalized, stigmatized, and relegated to what we now call "the sex industry." The 1956 movie Giant gave us the serious Juana, who is not defined by her sexuality, but by her work and seriousness of purpose. Juana does not suffer from forbidden love, but marries Jordy Benedict, son of the wealthy ranchowners Leslie and Bick Benedict. Juana and Jordy have a son who will be a leader in the emerging, more equal Texas. By 1995, Lone Star showed the smart, well-educated and sexy schoolteacher Pilar and her Mexican-American community politically ascendant in their community. Pilar romantically encounters her old flame, Sam, the soon-to-be-former Anglo sheriff, as his complete equal.
"We do our best political work," asserts writer Anne Finger, "at the place where hurt and questioning come together." We could hardly find better proof than in Limón's discussion of Katherine Anne Porter's short story "Noon Wine." Porter, a writer who Limón clearly admires, grew up in Central Texas and was drawn throughout her life to Mexico and Mexicans. But in her fiction set in Central Texas, she completely ignored her Mexican American neighbors. Why?
The easiest answer is that Katherine Anne Porter, while a great writer, was poisoned by the racism of her time and place. Limón takes this possibility seriously, but is not a man who ever settles for the obvious. Pushing beyond the surface, he wrestles to find another solution to Porter's painful omission. Limón's struggle, while poignant, yields an answer that may or may not convince you. What is admirable is Limón's almost overwhelming generosity of spirit. He wants to give Porter every benefit of the doubt. Applying the same quality of devotion with which he restored the unpublished fiction of Jovita Gonzalez, Limón now attempts to restore Porter's actual, but unrealized (perhaps unconscious) intentions to portray Mexican Americans sympathetically and respectfully. The world would be a much different place if we gave one another a thimbleful of such attention: listening for the best, trying to understand (though not to excuse) even the most hurtful failings.
Gustavo Perez Firmat (on the book's back cover) promises that "Limón writes with passion and precision." That promise is more than fulfilled in Limón's discussion of Manuel Gamio. Limón defends Gamio, a Mexican anthropologist, intellectual and activist, against recent rather blunt charges of "racism," charges which are either thinly substantiated or not substantiated at all, depending on whom you believe. With great care, Limón insists on getting the facts right, particularly since someone else's moral and intellectual reputation -- someone else's honor -- is at stake.
So what are we Texas Mexicans and Anglos to each other? Family? Partners? Enemies? Friends? John Sayles, whose film Lone Star Limón so much appreciates, mixes metaphors: we are family, at least half-siblings, but we are also once-thwarted lovers who are going to try to make things work out this time, in a landscape of political and cultural equality.
Limón, through most of the book, tends towards the metaphor of marriage, or at least romantic or sexual pairings. He undercuts the marriage metaphor in his last chapter, however, pointing towards a wider range of possibilities for equal, creative, formative, non-repressive and erotically charged relationships. It is not only particular individual Anglos and Mexicans, but our cultures and nations, that Limón hopes will "encounter" one another in equality, respect and pleasure.
Reading American Encounters, I often felt like an inexperienced trailrider following a skilled horseman. The beginning was rough. Our guide seemed to have forgotten that not every rider can make her way through thickets (of literary criticism, psychoanalytic theory and cultural studies) that he negotiates gracefully. My head almost got lopped off a few times by low-hanging branches with names like Russell Jacoby, Herbert Marcuse, and Raymond Williams. Other moments provided a lovely, comfortable gallop across familiar territory made intriguingly new by Limón's observations. Then he picked up speed again. Irrationally, I crouched lower; dangerously, I dropped the reins. All I could do was hang on for dear life, grabbing fistfulls of mane. I yelled to our guide -- Slow down! Come back, Dr. Limón! Help! -- but he was much too far ahead to hear. I survived. Exhilarated by the end of the ride, which took me further and faster than I would have dared go on my own, I'm left with plenty of questions. The most pressing is: When can we ride again?
Like many worthy relationships, this book is complicated and a tad on the high-maintenance side. But it's worth the effort. Limón is never predictable and always provocative. This eloquent, vulnerable, passionate and brilliant book is a delight even when (perhaps especially when) you find yourself arguing with its author. Enjoy.
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- Jose! Born to Dance: The Story of Jose Limon
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Jose! Born to Dance: The Story of Jose Limon (Tomas Rivera Mexican-American Children's Book Award (Awards))
Susanna Reich
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Limon, Jose
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ASIN: 0689865767 |
Book Description
José was a boy with a song in his heart and a dance in his step. Born in Mexico in 1908, he came into the world kicking like a steer, and grew up to love to draw, play the piano, and dream. José's dreaming took him to faraway places. He dreamed of bullfighters and the sounds of the cancan dancers that he saw with his father. Dance lit a fire in José's soul.
With his heart to guide him, José left his family and went to New York to dance. He learned to flow and float and fly through space with steps like a Mexican breeze. When José danced, his spirit soared. From New York to lands afar, José Limón became known as the man who gave the world his own kind of dance.
¡OLÉ! ¡OLÉ! ¡OLÉ!
Susanna Reich's lyrical text and Raúl Colón's shimmering artwork tell the story of a boy who was determined to make a difference in the world, and did. José! Born to Dance will inspire picture book readers to follow their hearts and live their dreams.
Customer Reviews:
Jose! Born to Dance: The Story of Jose Limon .......2006-07-28
A beautifully illustrated biography of the dancer José Limon, this book has proven to be quite timely in light of recent events surrounding immigration. It chronicles how young José fled Mexico for America and endured ridicule in elementary school for his poor English. Regardless, José's determination to succeed prevailed, and his story always receives cheers when I read it to various elementary classes. To view this and other cool short book recommendations for all ages.[...]
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Jose Limon
June Dunbar
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0415965810 |
Book Description
José Limón is universally recognized as one of the most important modern dancers of the 20th century. His technique is still taught at major colleges and dance schools; his dance company continues to revive his works, plus presents new works. His most famous work, The Moor's Pavanne, has been presented around the world by ballet and modern dance companies. This book presents a series of essays about Limón's life and works by noted scholars and dancers who were associated with Limón. It serves as a perfect introduction to his choreography and legacy. The book should appeal to fans of modern dance.
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Dance Is a Moment: A Portrait of Jose Limon in Words and Pictures
Barbara Pollack , and
Charles Humphrey Woodford
Manufacturer: Princeton Book Co Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Limon, Jose
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ASIN: 0871271834 |
Customer Reviews:
Very Useful.......2006-11-04
My dance teacher uses this syllabus in class and we all love it. The different levels of exercises are perfect, as we can build upon them each week. THis is a very useful book.
glad i bought it.......2006-08-19
the principles found in the beginning lend necessary insights into the exercises that follow; great for the creative mind.
Beautiful book - mostly for dancers.......2005-03-27
This book is a true expirience, but it is definately not for beginners in dance.I am a former dancer, now choreographer.
The book gives you a more than well insight in Jose Limons work and working-methods, and contains wonderful pictures. You get facinated and humble the more you know about Jose Limon.
The examples of exercises in the book is a valuable part of it. They are carefully written down, so you can follow them. If you can read notation there is a unique part with short pieces of choreographies.
I really enjoyed to read the book. Limons work comes even more alive and shows his uniqe technique. So if you are a dancer or have a good basic in dance, the book is highly recommed.
It is one of those books you just want to add to your collection.
Jose Limon's work comes alive.......2000-12-03
This book really shows the incredible skill of Jose Limon. I am a dancer and I really enjoyed this book because it clearly showed the technique of Jose Limon. I would suggest this book to any dancer because it really gives you new perspective on some types of movement. This book really made Limon's technique and movement come alive.
Book Description
"Carroll provides abundant evidence of the importance of the Longoria incident for Mexican Americans, for a rising Lyndon Johnson, for Texas politics, and, indirectly, for U.S. society. His insights ...have the potential of appealing to both historians and general readers, particularly those interested in Mexican American and/or Texas history."
—Julie Leininger Pycior, author of
Lyndon Johnson and Mexican Americans: The Paradox of Power
Private First Class Felix Longoria earned a Bronze Service Star, a Purple Heart, a Good Conduct Medal, and a Combat Infantryman's badge for service in the Philippines during World War II. Yet the only funeral parlor in his hometown of Three Rivers, Texas, refused to hold a wake for the slain soldier because "the whites would not like it." Almost overnight, this act of discrimination became a defining moment in the rise of Mexican American activism. It launched Dr. Héctor P. García and his newly formed American G.I. Forum into the vanguard of the Mexican civil rights movement, while simultaneously endangering and advancing the career of Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, who arranged for Longoria's burial with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
In this book, Patrick Carroll provides the first fully researched account of the Longoria controversy and its far-reaching consequences. Drawing on extensive documentary evidence and interviews with many key figures, including Dr. García and Mrs. Longoria, Carroll convincingly explains why the Longoria incident, though less severe than other acts of discrimination against Mexican Americans, ignited the activism of a whole range of interest groups from Argentina to Minneapolis. By putting Longoria's wake in a national and international context, he also clarifies why it became such a flash point for conflicting understandings of bereavement, nationalism, reason, and emotion between two powerful cultures—Mexicanidad and Americanism.
Book Description
Dew on the Thorn seeks to recreate the life of Texas Mexicans as Anglo culture was gradually encroaching upon them. González provides us with a richidly detailed portrait of South Texas, focusing on the cultural traditions of the Texas Mexicans at a time when the divisions of class and race were pressing on the established way of life.
Customer Reviews:
Great reading about discrimination of that period.......2000-03-17
The book caught my attention because (1)I like historical novels,(2) my last name is Mireles but no relation to author and (3)the fact that it's written by a woman. It's amazing how this manuscript remained hidden out of fear of what the "gringo" community would do/say mainly because the book addresses what it was like for Mexicans/Mexican Americans of the period and well into the 70s. Being a Chicana this book also told me a lot about how the mujer was treated but inspite of it how brave Jovita was and finally finding the courage to release her manuscript. It proves the courage that toda mujer finds.
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My Brother
