Some scholars argue that “tragedy” is an art form that only flourished during the Golden Age of Greece. However, it is clear that the tragic impulse or spirit is a concept that flows through all eras of Western culture. When we describe a work as a tragedy, we infer that the creator’s intention is “serious” and that its themes likely touch on death.
Canadian-born choreographer Aszure Barton
Canadian-born choreographer Aszure Barton, celebrated internationally for her innovative approach to dance—“offering an entire world, full of surprise and humor, emotion and pain, expressed through a dance vocabulary that takes ballet technique and dismantles it to near-invisibility” (The New York Times)—has collaborated with California-born composer Ambrose Akinmusire, described as “a composer of kaleidoscopic vision” (NPR), to develop a new dance work for the Limón Dance Company. Titled J o i n, it will have its world premiere at 92NY (The 92nd Street Y) on May 21 & 22, 2025. The work is co-commissioned by Perry-Mansfield and 92NY, whose Harkness Dance Center is celebrating its 90th anniversary.
J o i n is described as a profound new work inspired by José Limón’s vivid, poetic description of Doris Humphrey’s 1930s lost work, Orestes. In Limón’s An Unfinished Memoir, he refers to it as one of her greatest works. The scale of Orestes, which included Darius Milhaud’s orchestral score The Eumenides, was too grand to produce at the time and ultimately had to be abandoned.
Using Limón’s prose as a source of inspiration, Barton and Akinmusire have reimagined the movement and music with a demanding vocabulary, intricate partnering, and virtuosic use of space and musicality. Through their collaboration, they elevate the Limón legacy and bridge the eras of groundbreaking craftsmanship. The production also features costumes designed by Canadian fashion designer Rémi van Bochove.
Over the two-year rehearsal period for J o i n, Barton aimed to “build a language.” In a 2024 video interview, she remarked about the artists of the Limón company, “Through them, the humanity within the work will come through.” Photos taken from the video, documenting early rehearsals in 2024, accompany this text.
What does this have to do with the tragic impulse? In the interview, Barton expressed, “I want to put beautiful things in the world. And that doesn’t mean they will always be beautiful. There is also an underlying sadness that lives within me and an honesty, I think, [about] how fragile we are. How sad and intense life is and how upsetting. Through that, I think we can create something very beautiful and poetic.” These words suggest that the choreographer is grappling with the tragic impulse, making her work worth watching as it unfolds. She’s “serious!”
On May 21 and 22, 2025, in New York City, and again on May 31 and June 1, 2025, at Spoleto USA in Charleston, you will have the opportunity to evaluate whether J o i n can stand alongside masterpieces in the Limón-Humphrey canon, such as Missa Brevis and Air for the G String.
