Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28465 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-01-28
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Black & White, Classical, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 65 minutes

From the Back Cover
Jose Limon (1908-1972) was a Mexican-American choreographer who continues to be regarded as one of the modern dance world's seminal creative artists, known for his intense dramatic presence and the theatricality and musicality of his dances. Her for the first time on video are three of his most famous works with the original casts, filmed in their entirety for the Canadian Broadcasting Company in the 1950s.

The Moor's Pavane (1949) is generally considered to be one of the great masterworks in the modern repertory. In the form of a Renaissance dance, Limon distills the legend of Othello into a taut, one-act human drama with music by Henry Purcell. Joining Limon are his close collaborators Lucas Hoving, Pauline Koner, and Betty Jones. Telecast date: March 6, 1955 (21 min.)

The Traitor (1954) was Limon's response to the McCarthy hearings and the climate of betrayal that haunted the arts and entertainment fields during this period. Against a music score of violence, passion, and tenderness (by Gunther Schuller), the tragedy of Judas is portrayed as if it were taking place in modern times. Telecast date: October 23, 1955 (19 min.)

The Emperor Jones (1956) is based upon the play by Eugene O'Neill wherein a fugitive from a chain gang sets himself up as a ruler of an island domain. He becomes a tyrant, and his mistreated subjects eventually rebel and hunt him down. For this dance, Limon commissioned a musical score from Heitor Villa-Lobos. Telecast date: March 13, 1857 (23 min.)

Customer Reviews

lovely
originally aired live on the CBC, these three limon ballets are danced on a set rather than the stage. the cameras are set for an intimate experience with the dances (esp. in The Moor's Pavane). the collection features jose limon and lucas hoving in three roles each that define the male modern dancer.

An alternate version on video
For those who would like to have an alternate version of "The Moor's Pavanne", there is a VHS version of it recorded by dancers from the Kirov, namely Gabriela Komleva, Andres Williams and Nikita Dolgushin. It has been recorded with the Baltic Sea as a background, and it is quite a show! Mr. Williams'dancing is both noble and dramatic and Dolgushin's Iago is far superior to the one by the original cast. And all this in color...

The video, called "Tchaikovsky Trilogy", features two other ballets, both using Tchaikovsky's music, "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet", and both are useless, as far as dancing is concerned!