Ralph Lemon facts for kids

Ralph Lemon was born on August 1, 1952, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is an American choreographer, a director of dance companies, a writer, and a visual artist. From a young age, Ralph grew up in a religious family and started showing his artistic talents early on. He first used painting to express himself, but later discovered dance as a way to show his feelings through movement.

Ralph Lemon's Amazing Career and Awards

Ralph Lemon started his college journey at the University of Minnesota. He studied literature and theater arts. After graduating in 1975, he trained with a dancer named Nancy Hauser. She eventually asked him to join her company.

Before joining Nancy Hauser's group, Ralph helped start the Mixed Blood Theater Company in Minneapolis in 1976. Later, he moved to New York. There, he danced with Meredith Monk and her company. In 1985, he started his own group, the Ralph Lemon Dance company.

Over the years, Ralph has worked with many famous dance groups. These include the Limón Dance Company and Alvin Ailey's Repertory Ensemble. He also worked with the Geneva Opera Ballet and Jacob's Pillow Dance Ensemble. Ralph even performed in a video documentary with another choreographer, Bebe Miller.

Ralph Lemon is well-known for working with different types of art and musicians. He has won many awards for his work. Some of these include the National Endowment for the Arts choreographic fellowship and the American Choreography Award in 1987. He also won a Gold Medal at the New York Dance and Performance ("Bessie") Award in 1987.

After ten successful years, Ralph decided to close his dance company. He wanted to explore other artistic interests and try new things.

He received a 2000 Creative Capital Performing Arts Award. He also got a 2012 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award. In 2015, Ralph Lemon was one of only twelve people to receive the National Medal of Arts. This is a very special award given by the United States government. In 2018, he received the Heinz Award for his work in the Arts and Humanities.

Since 1991, Ralph Lemon has lived and worked in New York City.

The Geography Trilogy: A Global Dance Journey

For ten years, Ralph Lemon worked on a special project called the Geography Trilogy. This project used dance to explore social and political topics. It was a big collaboration with many artists.

The Geography Trilogy looked at how different cultures meet and mix. It also explored what it means to find your own identity as an artist and person. During this time, Ralph wrote two books. Geography: Art, Race, Exile went with the dance Geography. Tree: Belief, Culture, Balance was connected to the dance Tree. The third part of the trilogy, Come Home Charley Patton, also became a book. These books came from his experiences, feelings, and cultural questions during the project.

The main idea of the Geography Trilogy was to help people understand other cultures and their histories. Ralph did this by creating art in three different parts of the world.

• Geography was created in Africa, specifically in Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea. Ralph wrote journals about his experiences there. He explored what it meant to be an "American, African, brown, black, blue black, male, and artist." He wanted to connect with his heritage through his art.
• Tree was created in Asia. This dance was inspired by Buddhism. It explored how different cultural values can sometimes clash, especially when it comes to performance, race, identity, and old traditions versus new ideas.
• Come Home Charley Patton brought Ralph back to the US. This piece looked back at a time in history when people were separated by race. The performance showed how different generations remember important events and places. It explored how traumatic memories can be shared through art.

Ralph Lemon's Unique Artistic Style

Ralph Lemon is successful because he can show strong emotions and stories through movement. He uses new art forms to do this. He is currently the artistic director of Cross Performance Inc. in New York.

Ralph always tries to be creative and new with every performance. He uses different ideas and types of art. In his earlier works, Ralph used costumes and props to help the audience understand the story. But by the early 1990s, he changed his style. He started focusing more on the body and movement itself.

Ralph Lemon uses his knowledge of art and anthropology (the study of human cultures) to influence his dances. However, he is careful not to change the true cultural meaning of traditional dances.

Ralph Lemon's Performances

Major Works

• 1984: Ant's Burden (solo), Romance, Folktales and Romance 4, Boundary Water, Folktales with Men and Oranges, The Last Nights of Paris and Georgette
• 1985: Plan de Liebe, Forest (duet), And the Jungle Will Obliterate the Shrine/Seasons, Scarecrow
• 1986: Flock, En Su Llama Mortal, Two (with Bebe Miller)
• 1987: Nightingales and Fisherman, Les Noces, Waiting for Carnival
• 1988: Happy Trails, Cherubino and the Nightingale, Folkdance Duet, Folkdance, Punchinello
• 1989: Joy, Sleep
• 1990: Joy (Solo), Bogus Pomp, Civilian (solo)
• 1991: Persephone, Folkdance Sextet, Folkdance Solo, Don Juan
• 1992: Their Eyes Rolled Back in Ecstasy, Their Eyes Rolled Back in Ecstasy (Solo), Phrases Almost Biblical, My Tears Have Been My Meat Night and Day, Folkdance (with Songs)
• 1993: Folkdance Sextet
• 1996: Konbit (a video documentary), Persephone (a collaboration)
• 1997: Geography (Part 1 of the Geography Trilogy)
• 1999: Three (a film)
• 2000: Tree (Part 2 of the Geography Trilogy), Temples (an art installation)
• 2001: Mirrors and Smoke (new media collaboration), The Geography Trilogy (visual art installation)
• 2004: Come Home Charley Patton (Part 3 of the Geography Trilogy)
• 2007: The Geography Trilogy DVD Archive Collection, (The efflorescence of) Walter (mixed media installation)
• 2009: Rescuing the Princess
• 2010: How Can you Stay in the House all Day and Not Go Anywhere