From Ballet to the Abstract

A clear example of Bausch's traditional, clean work early in her career.

Three prominent political and cultural events occurred during the lifetime of Pina Bausch:

1. The postwar ballet renaissance
   
2. An increase in political and social activism
3. The reunification of Germany

Post World War II, Germany was divided into East and West republics. This reconstruction of the country and its society instigated a “ballet boom” like Germany had never seen before. This return to classical, academic ballet halted the growth of expressive, contemporary dance in West Germany, which could explain Bausch’s classical training and early work as a choreographer. In the late 1960s, there was a cultural shift toward increased political activism and awareness. After this shift, Bausch abandoned her conventional methods and began exploring the use of social commentary and dance theatre. Finally, in 1990, Bausch lived to see the reunification of Germany, which led to great civil unrest.

This abstracted image of her later work conveys her departure from conventional dance.

In the Melting Pot

Upon researching the lineage of Pina Bausch, this is what I have found:

Pina Bausch was born in Solingen, Germany during World War II. She began dancing at a young age and when she was fifteen she left home to study with Kurt Jooss at the Folkwang School in Essen. Then, in 1960, she attended the Juilliard School on scholarship and studied with many incredibly influential

dancers and choreographers, including Antony Tudor, José Limón, and Paul Taylor. While in New York City, she was able to fully absorb the elements of modern dance with the Paul Sanasardo and Donya Feuer Dance Company, the New American Ballet, and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet Company. In 1962, Bausch returned to Germany to dance as a soloist in Jooss’ company, Folkwang Ballett Company. She assisted Jooss on many pieces and began choreographing her own, until she succeeded Jooss as artistic director in 1969. Then, in 1972, she started as the artistic director of the Wuppertal Opera Ballet (now known as Tanztheater Wuppertal).

As we can see, Bausch's training came from a melting pot of great dancers and choreographers from all over the world. More insights into how this (along with societal changes/cultural factors) may have influenced her work will come in later posts.

Bausch teaching at a conference for "Nelken"

Changing the Landscape of Dance

Bausch has been reviewed many times in many different publications during her choreographic career; and when it comes to her work, they all seem to agree on one thing: it's unique, and it's visionary. One New York Times article described her as "the most deliberately vague of artists"

Photograph from Bausch's 1982 piece, Nelken (Carnations).

and most of her works as deliberately incoherent "dreamscapes". Another scholarly article described her company as "gestural and verbal, using sounds, silence, volume, rhythms, music, space and light to create an original stage form and give life to her aggressively realistic vision of contemporary society". She was a leading figure in the dance and theater world, and I believe it was the combination of these two that made her work so unique. She collaborated with designers Peter Pabst and Rolf Borzik to make every piece a "monumental visual metaphor" (Dance Magazine, 2009). She has forever changed the landscape of dance and obliterated the boundaries of performance art.

Phillipine "Pina" Bausch

Phillipine "Pina" Bausch was a German dancer and choreographer, as well as the director of her own company, Tanztheater Wuppertal. I am interested in Pina Bausch because her work is fascinatingly eclectic. Upon typing her name into a video search engine, I found pieces that are traditional, clean, and set to classical music (i.e. Orpheus and Eurydice); as well as pieces that are abstract, evocative, and galvanizing (i.e. Café Müller). But, no matter what video I watched, I could feel the complete investment, devotion, and conviction from her dancers. I would like to research more about her lineage to find out with whom and where she trained that might have influenced her eclectic repertoire.

Ms. Bausch unfortunately passed away in June of this year; click here for a riveting review of her life and her company.