PSI Lecture: "Choreographing Hope: José Limón’s Missa Brevis as a Response to Post-War Poland" with Mara Frazier (Ohio State U.)

headshot of Mara Frazier
November 13, 2023
12:30PM - 2:00PM
160 Enarson Classroom Building

Date Range
2023-11-13 12:30:00 2023-11-13 14:00:00 PSI Lecture: "Choreographing Hope: José Limón’s Missa Brevis as a Response to Post-War Poland" with Mara Frazier (Ohio State U.) The Polish Studies Initiative invites you to join us for a guest lecture featuring Mara Frazier (Ohio State U.). Abstract: In 1957, the Mexican-American choreographer and dancer José Limón traveled with his company to Europe on a U.S. State Department tour. Limón was deeply moved and inspired by the company’s visits to the cities of Poznań, Katowice, Warsaw, and Wrocław. In response, he created Missa Brevis, an ensemble dance work that became a major influence on American modern dance. Limón captured themes of human determination and resilience in the face of devastation that emerged from his experience of Poland and continue to resonate in today’s global context. This talk will draw on materials held in the Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute to share the history behind Missa Brevis and will discuss a recent project bringing together the Department of Dance, the José Limón Dance Foundation, Fort Hayes High School, and Kenyon College. By asking how Poland influenced American dance through the message of Missa Brevis, this research challenges a dominant narrative in the field of dance history that has typically framed dance in the United States as an influence to the rest of the world. Instead, Frazier asks how Postwar Poland changed the landscape of twentieth century dance in the United States. As such, it expands frameworks for understanding Polish-American relations and cross-cultural influences.  Speaker Bio: Mara Frazier is Assistant Professor and Curator of Dance at the Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute at the Ohio State University’s Thompson Library Special Collections. She holds an MFA and BFA in Dance from Ohio State and a Teaching Certification in Labanotation from the Dance Notation Bureau and is a Fellow of the International Council of Kinetography Laban. Ms. Frazier has staged notated dances by several major choreograhpers, including George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Anna Sokolow, and José Limon. The Missa Brevis project was supported in part by the following: The Ohio State University's Department of Dance Chair’s Discretionary Fund The Polish Studies Initiative Dance Preservation Fund, College of Arts and Sciences Dean of Arts and Humanities Engagement Fund The University Libraries Dean’s Discretionary Fund Kenyon College's Office of Outreach and Engagement and Department of Theatre and Dance Boosey and Hawkes Music Publishing the José Limón Dance Foundation, New York, NY Dance Notation Bureau, New York, NY If you have any questions about accessibility or wish to request accommodations, please contact us at cseees@osu.edu. Typically, a two weeks' notice will allow us to provide access. 160 Enarson Classroom Building America/New_York public

The Polish Studies Initiative invites you to join us for a guest lecture featuring Mara Frazier (Ohio State U.).

Abstract: In 1957, the Mexican-American choreographer and dancer José Limón traveled with his company to Europe on a U.S. State Department tour. Limón was deeply moved and inspired by the company’s visits to the cities of Poznań, Katowice, Warsaw, and Wrocław. In response, he created Missa Brevis, an ensemble dance work that became a major influence on American modern dance. Limón captured themes of human determination and resilience in the face of devastation that emerged from his experience of Poland and continue to resonate in today’s global context. This talk will draw on materials held in the Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute to share the history behind Missa Brevis and will discuss a recent project bringing together the Department of Dance, the José Limón Dance Foundation, Fort Hayes High School, and Kenyon College. By asking how Poland influenced American dance through the message of Missa Brevis, this research challenges a dominant narrative in the field of dance history that has typically framed dance in the United States as an influence to the rest of the world. Instead, Frazier asks how Postwar Poland changed the landscape of twentieth century dance in the United States. As such, it expands frameworks for understanding Polish-American relations and cross-cultural influences. 

Speaker Bio: Mara Frazier is Assistant Professor and Curator of Dance at the Lawrence and Lee Theatre Research Institute at the Ohio State University’s Thompson Library Special Collections. She holds an MFA and BFA in Dance from Ohio State and a Teaching Certification in Labanotation from the Dance Notation Bureau and is a Fellow of the International Council of Kinetography Laban. Ms. Frazier has staged notated dances by several major choreograhpers, including George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Anna Sokolow, and José Limon.

The Missa Brevis project was supported in part by the following:

  • The Ohio State University's Department of Dance Chair’s Discretionary Fund
  • The Polish Studies Initiative
  • Dance Preservation Fund, College of Arts and Sciences Dean of Arts and Humanities Engagement Fund
  • The University Libraries Dean’s Discretionary Fund
  • Kenyon College's Office of Outreach and Engagement and Department of Theatre and Dance
  • Boosey and Hawkes Music Publishing
  • the José Limón Dance Foundation, New York, NY
  • Dance Notation Bureau, New York, NY

If you have any questions about accessibility or wish to request accommodations, please contact us at cseees@osu.edu. Typically, a two weeks' notice will allow us to provide access.