Tribute to Pina Bausch
Pina Bausch is gone. Yesterday, on Tuesday June, 30th. She was one of the major figures in the history of dance in the 20th century, and has revolutionned the relation of the dancer to the floor, and its dance technique. One year and a half after Maurice Bejart's goodbye, contemporary dance is losing one of its parent. Following was a quote of the new French Culture Secretary: "loosing Pina and Maurice within less than two years is hard for dance." I completely agree. Thank God there are still some people left: Cunningham, Carolyn Carlson, Angelin Prejlocaj, Forsythe, Kylian, etc.. Let's see however if dance will survive those two enormous losts.
A German dancer and choreograph, Pina Bausch was born in 1940, and was director of the Tanztheater in Wuppertal. She has given so much to dance. Thanks to master pieces like the Rite of Spring, or her Cafe Müller, she gave contemporary dance a new dimension, a new energy. She gave it power and inner violence, and her work became a milestone that allowed further choreograph to invent a new, more grounded language, enabling dance to become what is is today. Her work was so true, so powerful, so impactful, you could not stay neutral when attending one of her performances. With Maurice Bejart, she was also among the few that have introduced texts, theater and speaking within the choreographies. In a word, she invented the concept of tanztheater. Thanks, Pina. Your legacy will remain forever.
More articles here, there and also here.