Sarah Stackhouse, Former Company Member of Limón Dance Company, Has Passed Away
Limón Dance Company announces with great sorrow the passing of a beloved, six-decade-long member of the Limón family, Sarah Stackhouse. Sarah was a world-renowned dancer, artist, teacher, and dear friend. She passed at home in the early morning on Sunday, January 7, 2024, slipping away gracefully in her home with her husband Nano Seeber and son Roel Q Seeber present.
Sarah danced with the Limón Dance Company from 1958 to 1969 as a principal dancer and partner to Limón. She was also a member of the American Dance Theatre at Lincoln Center, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Louis Falco and Featured Dancers, ‘The Workgroup’ directed by Daniel Nagrin, and Annabelle Gamson Dance Solos, Inc. She gave teaching residencies, staged, and directed many of Limón’s major works for classical and modern companies in Europe, the United States, South and Central America, China, and India and served as an American Cultural Specialist for the Cultural Programs Division of the U.S. Department of State, lecturing and teaching in Rome, Perugia, and Florence, Italy.
She taught at the Juilliard School, the American Dance Festival, and the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College – SUNY, N.Y. Her essays have appeared in the books, East Meets West in Dance: Voices in the Cross-Cultural Dialogue; José Limón: The Artist Reviewed; and José Limón and La Malinche. Her paper “The Moor’s Pavane: Notes on the Characters, Casting, and Scenes” is included in the Labanotation score of this Limón work. Her dedication to the field will continue to inspire generations to come.
Her colleague and friend Diana Byer said of Sarah, “her unassuming and wholly honest personality was reflected in her performances. Sarah always saw the good in everything and everybody.”
“Sarah was an instrumental force in building a decades worth of repertory with José Limón. She was part of establishing the pedagogy in the teaching of his technique and the restaging of his works. She was an energetic and vibrant energy, she never gave up on helping you find your potential and inspired generations of dance artists. We are only beginning to feel the weight of her loss,” said Dante Puleio, Artistic Director, Limón Dance Company. “The Limón Dance Company dedicates our work in her memory, performing with her words and spirit guiding us through the upcoming season.”
Visit https://www.limon.nyc/ for information regarding Limón Dance Company’s upcoming season.
Image above: Sarah Stackhouse, Photo by Betti Franceschi