No Sacred Cows

One of the best things about being 51 years old is you've got some great stories to tell -- that goes for dance companies as well as people. At a recent rehearsal for the upcoming Houston Limón Project concert, Limón Dance Company artistic director Carla Maxwell and rehearsal director Sarah Stackhouse spent the downtime telling tales on their founder to the younger dancers: Remember the time Jose was yelling, 'You're late, you're a mess, your knickers are falling down, your girdle's not buttoned... now get on stage!' or the time when he costumed them in -- can you believe it? -- push-up bras....

Both Maxwell and Stackhouse were principals in the company back in Limón's heyday of the '50s and '60s, and it's obvious that they enjoy reminiscing about the old days when Jose was alive. But neither of them is stuck in the past, and that is precisely why the Limón Company, the first modern dance company to survive its creator's death, is so relevant to the modern dance scene of the present and future.

Of course, the Limón Company's mainstay is performing Jose Limón's classic choreographic compositions, but Maxwell doesn't treat her mentor's masterworks as if they were pieces of immutable perfection to be kept in a lighted glass case like an old set of china. The Limón Company takes out the good plates and eats on them, so to speak.

Last spring's production of The Winged, choreographed by Jose Limón in 1966, used Limón's steps and kept with the theme of winged creatures, but it was edited by 15 minutes and accompanied by a new score, African-born composer Joe Magnussen's response to Limón's original work. It was risky -- stalwarts might have screamed sacrilege -- but it was a big success.

The headlining piece in the Houston concert, There Is a Time, is said to be the clearest statement of Limón's passionate but formal artistic vision. Maxwell and Stackhouse are directing the first "reconsideration" of the choreography since its debut in 1956. It's unlikely that Jose would have minded their changes. He himself never left a piece alone for very long. "Jose wasn't really a fan of rehearsing," says 11-year company veteran Emilie Plauche. "He liked to create."

-- Lauren Kern

The Limon Company performs Friday, June 11, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, June 12, at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. at Central College's Heinen Theatre, 3517 Austin at Holman, (713)718-6570. $12; $10, students and seniors.