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Dancing the American Dream: José Limón's War Choreography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2013

Stacey Prickett
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Abstract

José Limón's early choreography on themes of war and conflict and the dances he created while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II represent diverse identities and ideological perspectives, ranging from antiwar statements to those perpetuating myths of the “American dream.” This paper will examine the myriad of symbols in his dances linked to national identity, which moved beyond “folk” representations, theorized through concepts such as the “imagined community” and a “pan-ethnic Americanism.”

Type
Research Article
Information
Congress on Research in Dance Conference Proceedings , Volume 39 , supplement S1: Choreographies Of Migration: Patterns Of Global Mobility , 2007 , pp. 166 - 172
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2007

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References

Notes

1. Anderson, Benedict, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (London: Verso, 1983).Google Scholar

2. Rosenblatt, Esther, “The 1940 Mills College Summer Session in Dance,” Dance Observer (August-September 1940): 100.Google Scholar

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4. Ibid., 205.

5. “The Dancers' War Fund,” Dance Observer (May 1942): 59.

6. Dance Observer (November 1942): 119.

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18. I am grateful to Ann Vachon for the use of these and other images at the conference presentation of this paper.

19. Archibald Williams, quoted in Lloyd, Margaret, The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance, 206.Google Scholar

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23. U.S. Army Service Forces, Special Services Division, Hi Yank! Blueprint Special No. 2 (Washington, DC: Headquarters, Army Service Forces, Special Services Division, ASF, c. 1944), 12.Google Scholar Music and lyrics by Pvt. Frank Loesser, Lt. Alex North, Lt. Jack Hill, and Sgt. Jesse Berkman; sketches by Pvt. Arnold Auerbach, Lt. Bob Eastright, Lt. Jack Hill, et al. Costume and scenery designs by Lt. Robert T Stevenson and Sgt. Al Hamilton, drawn by T/4 Edward E. Wolf. Dances by Pvt. José Limon. Cover and other drawings by Sgt. George Baker.

24. Ibid., 13.

25. Ibid., 13.

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31. Jowitt, Deborah, introduction to José Limón: An Unfinished Memoir, xvii.Google Scholar

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33. Ibid., 137.