Attitudes.

Sixty years is a fairly long time, especially for a dance company, and especially for a dance company in the English-speaking, institutionally challenged world of the performing arts. Why this backwardness in such institutions is so marked I don't quite know. I think it might have been the reluctance of the English monarchy, after the experience of Charles I, who lost his head in sad circumstances, to invest in anything that couldn't be taken away with them or quickly sold. Possibly this explains its abiding interest in paintings, horses, sculpture, and real estate, and its traditional neglect of theater, music, dance, and opera. Anyway, this means, among other things, that 60-year-old dance companies are rare birds, and now joining the aviary we can welcome the Limon Dance Company.

It was co-founded in 1947 by its chief choreographer, Jose Limon, and Limon's mentor and first artistic director, Doris Humphrey, who had retired from the stage three years earlier. The world of modern dance was then very different from the much-crowded globe we find today, where companies small and large, or at least medium-large, seem almost as plentiful as the grains of sand in the desert--and some of them just as dry.

The two major bloodlines of American modern dance are Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey. Not all but most dancers, directly or indirectly, come from Graham's "contraction and release" and Humphrey's "fall and recovery." Today it is perhaps difficult to evoke the historic dissension--indeed sometimes almost enmity--between the two schools or styles. Graham formed her company in 1929, and it's now the oldest dance troupe, modern or classical, in the English-speaking world. But what about Humphrey?

Before the formation of the Limon company, Humphrey had been associated with her friend and fellow Denishawn alumnus, Charles Weidman. They had started a school and performance group as early as 1928. Weidman is an important, rather tragic figure, today pretty much forgotten. His early collaboration with Humphrey was of vital significance to the development of modern dance. He brought a much-needed sense of humor to a somewhat sober-sided art; I recall some Thurber-inspired sketches as particularly sharp and witty. But following the break with Humphrey in 1944, he had severe health problems. Fortunately, toward the end of his career (he died in 1975), his artistic spirits revived, and in 1967 he created the lovely Brahms Waltzes, Opus 39. It was "dedicated to Doris Humphrey because it is the kind of movement she loved and could do so beautifully."

Despite their great reputations in their day, I would hesitate to call either Humphrey or Weidman a major choreographer. Limon certainly was. He started making dances as early as 1931, working with fellow Humphrey-Weidman dancers Eleanor King and Ernestine (Henoch) Stodelle as The Little Group. But while his Chaconne dates from 1942, his first important ensemble pieces did not come until 1949 with La Malinche and The Moor's Pavane. Humphrey may not have been an important choreographer in her own right-and there are many who would disagree with me on that point--but she was undeniably a wonderful director. With Limon she not only shaped, but also, more significantly, edited. Jose had a tendency toward prolixity--he never seemed quite to know when a good thing had ended--and you only have to look at the works he created before Humphrey's death in 1958 and those after, to note the difference, not in content but in form. Limon's genius continued unabated. Unfortunately it was sometimes just that--unabated.

I first met both Humphrey and Limon when the Limon company visited London, and then briefly corresponded with Humphrey. Her command of musical and dance structure was awesome (although sadly I didn't actually think her choreography was especially musical) and so, I felt, was her influence on Limon. What Limon had was unparalleled fluency in using the Humphrey-Weidman technique, a theatricality, and a gift for stylistic invention. Just think of The Moor's Pavane and gasp.

Last fall, the Limon jubilee performances in New York, apart from a premiere by Lar Lubovitch, were rightly given over to Humphrey's work (I must say I never expected to see Day on Earth again) and Limon. But someone else shared in the honors-artistic director Carla Maxwell. It is she who has kept the company running smoothly, not just maintaining the heritage ballets, but also the heritage of creativity.

Ongoing creativity is the secret to the continued life of our great companies. Peter Martins with the heritage of Balanchine and Robbins has realized this. Judith Jamison has realized it with Ailey. No one appears to have realized it with Graham, which is why after 80 years the Martha Graham Dance Company had a season consisting of only two New York performances and an unlikely tour on an ocean liner. So let us thank Maxwell and all who have worked with her!

Senior Consulting Editor Clive Barnes also covers dance and theater for the New York Post.