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Deepa Liegel (B.F.A. ’17) is this week’s featured alum in our new Alumni Spotlight series for the This Week at Meadows e-newsletter. Each week, a different Meadows alum will be highlighted for their accomplishments post-graduation.

When she came to ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Meadows, Division of Dance alum Deepa Liegel had a very clear picture in her mind of how she wanted her professional dance career to turn out. To achieve her dream of joining a modern dance company, she understood that she needed to become as versatile a mover as she could and knew that the School could help with that trajectory.

An impactful opportunity arose during her junior year when Liegel and other Meadows dancers were invited to perform for Limón Dance Company’s 70th anniversary festival in NYC, where she was deeply inspired by the movement and impact of José Limón and ended up meeting many of the artists she works with today. Unfortunately, only a month later, Liegel suffered a knee injury on stage and was unable to dance for the next four months.

“My teachers and friends were there every step of the way, and it made me realize how deeply I wanted to dance and all I was willing to do to make it happen,” Liegel says of navigating her passion for dance post-injury. “Graduating a year later with a job offer as an apprentice dancer with the Limón Dance Company was the sweetest reward and best way I could say thank you to the teachers, peers and family who had invested time in my dream.”

Liegel joined Limón Dance Company upon graduating in 2017 and danced with the company for a year, after which she joined Mark Morris Dance Group until the pandemic intervened. After several bubble residencies that reignited her passion for dance, Liegel returned to Limón in 2021.

Limón Dance Company is a legacy company where its dancers learn and perform repertory from as far back as the 1950s, as well as help create new works that speak to today’s issues and stories.

“Limón’s work speaks to the essence of humanity, the core of how people connect and the duality of human nature,” Liegel explains. “I’m constantly learning and discovering more about my voice as a dancer, my role as an artist in this world and who I am as a person outside of the studio.”

In addition to her work with the dance company stateside, Liegel has had the opportunity to travel the world dancing with Limón. From touring Chile in the dead of winter and a four-week tour of Germany and Switzerland to back-to-back sold-out performances at Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Liegel is inspired daily by the people and organization she works with and is grateful for every step of the journey.

“Art and dance are communal acts, and I am so lucky to experience the world through dance,” says Liegel of her time with Limón Dance Company. “I feel so grateful for the experiences at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Meadows that led me to join this beautiful company.”