The National Arts Club presents The Living Legacy: An Evening with the Limón Dance Company on June 4, 2026, at 6:30PM at 15 Gramercy Park South, NYC. Tickets are free and available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-living-legacy-an-evening-with-the-limon-dance-company-tickets-1988577936138.

Three extraordinary works. Eight decades of American modern dance. One unforgettable evening. Experience excerpts of Doris Humphrye’s Two Ecstatic Themes, José Limón’s The Moor’s Pavane, and Kayla Farrish’s The Quake t hat Held Them All – works that span generations and define a genre – performed by the celebrated Limón Dance Company, founded in 1946 by José Limón and Doris Humphrey. This evening of performance and conversation brings together Artistic Director Dante Puleio, former Limón soloist Daniel Fetecua, Jacob’s Pillow Archivist Norton Owen, and Limón principals Joey Columbus and Mariah Gravelin to illuminate the past, present, and future of a living legacy. It will be a rare window into an art form that continues to inspire audiences worldwide.

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 repertoire, 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 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 Latinx communities throughout the United States. Limón4Kids is an important addition to the Institute’s mission, taking the Limón legacy directly into the classrooms of the most underrepresented New York City public schools and community centers.

José Limón was one of the most prominent American choreographers in modern dance. His powerful choreography often focused on human drama, incorporating themes from literature, history, or religion. Throughout his career, Limón worked to change the image of the male in dance and bring it to a new stature and recognition. Born in 1908 in Culiacán, Mexico, Limón moved to the United States with his family when he was seven years old. He became interested in dance at the age of twenty, after moving to New York City to study painting. He began his studies with pioneer modern dancers Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman, and was soon invited to join their company. In 1946, he founded his own company. Limón is best known for his masterpiece, The Moor’s Pavane, based on Shakespeare’s Othello. He choreographed over seventy-four other works, including The Traitor, The Exiles, There is a Time, Chaconne, Emperor Jones, Carlota, Dances for Isadora, and The Unsung. José Limón died on December 2, 1972. Today, the José Limón Dance Foundation continues his work through two entities: the Limón Dance Company, an international touring repertory company, and the Limón Institute, an educational and archival resource organization.

About The National Arts Club

In 1898, author and poet Charles De Kay, the literary and art critic for The New York Times, sought to establish a hub for the arts in New York City. He, along with a group of New York’s preeminent artists and patrons, among them such luminaries as Louis Comfort Tiffany and Charles Rollison Lamb, conceived of the National Arts Club as a gathering place to welcome artists and art-lovers across all artistic disciplines. In 1906, when the Club outgrew its original location on 34th Street, Spencer Trask, a financier, philanthropist and NAC Governor, helped the Club acquire the historic Samuel Tilden Mansion as its new home.

The National Arts Club admitted women on a full and equal basis from its inception and has a long history of exclusivity through inclusivity, continuing its tradition by welcoming all artists.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the mission of the National Arts Club is to stimulate, foster, and promote public interest in the arts and to educate all people in the fine arts. As a hub for the arts in the heart of New York City, the NAC offers more than 150 free, multidisciplinary arts programs to the public, including exhibitions, theatrical and musical performances, lectures, and readings, attracting an annual audience of over 30,000 visitors. The NAC’s commitment to serving the artistic community is reflected in its work with artists, innovators, and thought leaders as well as in its local, national, and international collaborations to share ideas, create pioneering initiatives, and engage new audiences.

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