The renowned Limón Dance Company will dedicate its coming season to the founder of the Chilmark dance colony, The Yard, the late Patricia Nanon.

The dedication was announced shortly after President Bush awarded The JoséLimón Dance Foundation with a 2008 National Medal of Arts for Lifetime Achievement in a ceremony held in the East Room of the White House on Nov. 17

Limón artistic director Carla Maxwell called Ms. Nanon a true visionary and described The Yard as a special place to work: “We value their contribution as a creative force in the community and a much-needed environment for sharing the heritage of modern dance.”

The company, this year celebrating JoséLimón’s centenary birthday, is known for both its dramatic expression and technical mastery. Both were on display at The Yard this past summer in The Othello Project, where company members performed its signature piece The Moor’s Pavane.

Another Yard affiliate, Urban Bush Women’s founding artistic director Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, was recognized as a United States Artists Fellow this month at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.

Meanwhile The Yard itself has received a grant from the New York city-based Jerome Robbins Foundation, named for the choreographer of the Broadway and film versions of West Side Story and the creator of more than 60 ballets. Yard artistic director Wendy Taucher said the nonprofit was “honored by the foundation’s recognition of The Yard’s contribution to the art of choreography, both as a presenting organization and as a nurturing ground for artists.”