Pina Bausch
Biography
Pina Bausch
Born in 1940 into a publican family in Solingen, she discovered her love of dance at an early age and joined children’s ballet classes where her talent was recognised. In 1955 she began a professional dance education at the Folkwang School in Essen, led by Kurt Jooss, a pioneer of the revolutionary 1920s/30s German movement Ausdruckstanz (‘expressive dance’), completing the course in 1959. The most important values she took from her work with Jooss were ‘honesty and precision’, as she later put it: honesty in approaching reality and precision in developing form. After two years in New York, initially with a scholarship for the renowned Juilliard School of Music, then as a dancer at the New American Ballet and at the Metropolitan Opera House Ballet, she returned to Essen in 1962 on Jooss’ request as a soloist at the newly founded Folkwang Dance Studio. Here she worked with Jooss, Antony Tudor, Lucas Hoving, Hans Züllig and above all Jean Cébron. At the end of the 1960s she gained attention with her first choreographies, including Im Wind der Zeit (‘in the wind of time’), for which she won first prize in the Cologne choreography competition.
Wuppertal
It was Arno Wüstenhöfer, the new director of the Wuppertaler Bühnen (Wuppertal’s combined municipal performing arts venues), who hired Pina Bausch as choreographer there, starting in the 1973/74 season. The times had changed. The new Regietheater (direction-orientated rather than text-based theatre) in Germany had altered expectations of dance too. It needed to be closer to real life, to develop new forms. Pina Bausch changed the name of her ensemble from ‘ballet’ to ‘Tanztheater’ (‘dance theatre’). The clue was in the title. She tested out every possible genre, called her pieces ‘dance opera’, ‘revue’, even ‘operetta’ and began combining means of expression from both dance and theatre. Her choreographic language was unequivocal, clear. Together with her life partner Rolf Borzik, who created the costumes and sets until his death in 1980, she created a new aesthetic. Later she continued this work with Peter Pabst (sets) and Marion Cito (costumes). Together with her musical colleagues Matthias Burkert and Andreas Eisenschneider she continually sought out new, unusual music for her freely collaged pieces, which used poetic images and dances to address the fears and desires which drive human beings. The search for love, affinity and security became a central motif of her oeuvre, for which she developed new working methods. She asked her dancers questions, 800 to 1000 during the research and development on each piece, and out of 40 to 50 of the answers she composed her highly emotional, moving excursions into the inner realms of desire. Here too, she was to rewrite dance history.
By the time of her death, in 2009, she had created over 50 works and achieved world recognition for her art. Despite criticism at the start, she succeeded in establishing dance theatre as a new genre, influencing the development of dance internationally. She was awarded the greatest prizes and honours worldwide for her revolutionary redefinition of dance. Few other twentieth century choreographers were able to open up new freedoms for dance as she did, liberating it from its shackles with ‘superficial beauty’ and leading it towards real life. Her ground-breaking style remains influential to this day.
Text by Norbert Servos
Translated by Steph Morris
Gallery
Piece creation
Season 1966/67 | Fragment Choreography |
Season 1967/68 | Im Wind der Zeit Choreography |
Season 1969/70 | Nachnull (After Zero) Choreography |
Season 1970/71 | Aktionen für Tänzer Choreography |
Season 1970/71 | PHILIPS 836 885 DSY Choreography |
Season 1971/72 | Tannhäuser Bacchanal Choreography |
Season 1972/73 | Wiegenlied Choreography |
Season 1973/74 | Fritz Choreography |
Season 1973/74 | Iphigenie auf Tauris Set and costume design, Choreography |
Season 1973/74 | Zwei Krawatten Choreography |
Season 1974/75 | Adagio – Five Songs by Gustav Mahler Choreography |
Season 1974/75 | I'll Do You In… Choreography |
Season 1974/75 | Fliegenflittchen Choreography |
Season 1974/75 | Orpheus und Eurydike Choreography |
Season 1975/76 | The Rite of Spring Choreography |
Season 1975/76 | Wind From West Choreography |
Season 1975/76 | The Second Spring Choreography |
Season 1975/76 | The Seven Deadly Sins Choreography |
Season 1976/77 | Bluebeard. While Listening to a Tape Recording of Béla Bartók's Opera "Duke Bluebeard's Castle" Direction and choreography |
Season 1976/77 | Come Dance With Me Direction and choreography |
Season 1977/78 | Renate wandert aus (Renate Emigrates) Direction and choreography |
Season 1977/78 | He Takes Her by The Hand and Leads Her Into the Castle, The Others Follow Direction |
Season 1977/78 | Café Müller Choreography |
Season 1978/79 | Kontakthof Direction and choreography |
Season 1978/79 | Arien Direction and choreography |
Season 1979/80 | Keuschheitslegende (Legend of Chastity) Direction and choreography |
Season 1979/80 | 1980 – A Piece by Pina Bausch Direction and choreography |
Season 1980/81 | Bandoneon Direction and choreography |
Season 1981/82 | Walzer Direction and choreography |
Season 1982/83 | Nelken (Carnations) Direction and choreography |
Season 1983/84 | Auf dem Gebirge hat man ein Geschrei gehört (On the Mountain a Cry Was Heard) Direction and choreography |
Season 1984/85 | Two Cigarettes in the Dark Direction and choreography |
Season 1985/86 | Viktor Choreography |
Season 1986/87 | Ahnen Direction and Choreography |
Season 1989/90 | Palermo Palermo Direction and choreography |
Season 1990/91 | Tanzabend II Direction and choreography |
Season 1992/93 | Das Stück mit dem Schiff (The Piece with the Ship) Direction and choreography |
Season 1993/94 | Ein Trauerspiel Direction and choreography |
Season 1994/95 | Danzón Direction and choreography |
Season 1995/96 | Nur Du (Only You) Direction and choreography |
Season 1996/97 | Der Fensterputzer (The Window Washer) Direction and choreography |
Season 1997/98 | Masurca Fogo Direction and choreography |
Season 1997/98 | Bluebeard's Castle Direction and choreography |
Season 1998/99 | O Dido Direction and choreography |
Season 1999/2000 | Kontakthof. With Ladies and Gentlemen over 65 Direction and choreography |
Season 1999/2000 | Wiesenland Direction and choreography |
Season 2000/01 | Água Direction and choreography |
Season 2001/02 | For the Children of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Direction and choreography |
Season 2002/03 | Nefés Direction and choreography |
Season 2003/04 | Ten Chi Direction and choreography |
Season 2004/05 | Rough Cut Direction and choreography |
Season 2005/06 | Vollmond (Full Moon) Direction and choreography |
Season 2006/07 | Bamboo Blues Direction and choreography |
Season 2007/08 | 'Sweet Mambo' Direction and choreography |
Season 2008/09 | Kontakthof. With Teenagers over 14 Direction and choreography |
Season 2008/09 | "... como el musguito en la piedra, ay si, si, si ..." (Like Moss on the Stone) Direction and choreography |
Premieres
Piece | Fragment |
Date | 5 July 1967 |
Venue | Folkwang Hochschule Essen Essen Germany |
Dance | Erika Fabry |
Hans Pop | |
Hiltrud Blanck | |
Jonathan Thorpe | |
Michael Diekamp | |
Pina Bausch | |
Veronika Hoffmann-Strobel |
Discover photos, videos and more in the archives | Browse the archives |
Piece | Im Wind der Zeit |
Date | 21 June 1968 |
Venue | Folkwang Hochschule Essen Essen Germany |
Discover photos, videos and more in the archives | Browse the archives |
Piece | Aktionen für Tänzer |
Date | 12 June 1971 |
Venue | Wuppertal Germany |
Dance | Anna Mittelholzer |
Carlos Orta | |
Catherine Denisot | |
Christine Schulte | |
Gwat-Mee Tan | |
Ingrid Metzing | |
Ivan Neumann | |
Katharine Inge Sehnert | |
Manne Dahlstedt | |
Marlis Alt | |
Pina Bausch | |
Susanne Linke | |
Stagehand | Dieter Simon |
Lighting | Hans-Joachim Deinert |
Technical direction | Rolf Bachmann |
Stage manager | Werner Hartkopf |
Source of cast | Booklet for “Aktionen für Tänzer” by Pina Bausch with Folkwangballett and Solistenensemble von Günther Becker and “Aktionen für Tänzer” by Ivan Sertić with Ballett der Wuppertaler Bühnen and Solistenensemble von Günther Becker in in Wuppertal, June 12, 1971 |
Discover photos, videos and more in the archives | Browse the archives |
Piece | PHILIPS 836 885 DSY |
Date | 31 July 1971 |
Venue | Connecticut College New London USA |
Dance | Pina Bausch |
Discover photos, videos and more in the archives | Browse the archives |
Piece | Café Müller |
Date | 20 May 1978 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
Dance | Dominique Mercy |
Jan Minařík | |
Malou Airaudo | |
Meryl Tankard | |
Pina Bausch | |
Rolf Borzik |
Discover photos, videos and more in the archives | Browse the archives |
Piece | Danzón |
Date | 13 May 1995 |
Venue | Opernhaus Wuppertal Wuppertal Germany |
Dance | Aida Vainieri |
Andrey Berezin | |
Antonio Carallo | |
Barbara Kaufmann | |
Cristiana Morganti | |
Daphnis Kokkinos | |
Dominique Mercy | |
Jan Minařík | |
Marigia Maggipinto | |
Pina Bausch | |
Regina Advento | |
Actor | Mechthild Großmann |
Discover photos, videos and more in the archives | Browse the archives |