Sunday, February 17, 2008 :
Pina Bausch
My mood improved by United’s performance in the F.A. Cup, I risked another trip to Sadler’s Wells last night, this time to take in a Pina Bausch double bill comprising Café Müller and The Rite of Spring. I was pretty nervous about this prospect. The last time I went to see a Pina Bausch work, it lasted for over three hours. So a double bill had potential to carry on until dawn. It was clear from the outset that this was a significant London arts establishment ‘event’. The house was packed; the crowd older and more serious than for Jerome Bel. These people had manifestly spent decades each earnestly appreciating art.
The pieces being performed (to my relief each under an hour long) are from the 1970s and apparently very widely acclaimed. The first was set in a café, with six characters. It evoked an emotionally supercharged Eastenders episode set to dance. This stuff was quite old–school: very clearly a performance and with characters and narrative. It was emotionally intense and discomfiting — as indeed a really heavy Eastenders episode set to dance would be, assuming that it didn’t cross the line into bathos. This didn’t. It was also immediately obvious that these dancers were top–drawer in technical ability.
The other work, after an interval, was very different. The entire stage was covered in a couple of inches of brown soil, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring was played and a dance was done by a large cast. This was less “contemporary dance” than a lot of contemporary dance — being almost like a ballet in structure and feel and much more the sort of thing that a non–dance person would expect to see if they went along “to see some dance”. Refreshing, once in a while: you could almost just relax and enjoy it. If Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and the movement inspired by it had happened to be remotely relaxing. It was an extremely striking visual spectacle, brilliantly choreographed and performed with great virtuosity and intensity. Very high quality and well worth seeing. It received a standing ovation from the whole house, which the performers deserved.
Other reactions: Independent / Times.
Labels: contemporary dance
And they say marriage doesn't change people...
The public want the Cockney dictionary and more Akon baiting.
regards
Melvyn Bragg
: 10:00 AM
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