‘Dance, dance, otherwise we are lost.’
Pina Bausch
A scene from Rite of Spring by Pina Bausch
The first time I met Pina Bausch was at the ‘art of dance’ course at Bogazici University. She was breathtaking, radical and full of surprises. I was struck by her Cafe Muller. The spontaneity, courageous search for the expression of the human experience, the intensity of it all was truly stimulating for a student of my age.
Pina Bausch (1940-2009)
Bausch is one of the leading figures of dance theatre in which she blended it all: movement, drama, sound, stage. She was the artistic director of Tanztheater Wuppertal Company for 25 years. She was fascinated with improvisation and ‘used’ the memories and experiences of the dancers when creating choreography and her choreographies knew no limits. She drew her inspirations from a wide range of sources and one of the last sources of her inspiration was Istanbul.
Wim Wenders had a tribute film for Bausch in 2011.
A scene from ‘Breath’ by Pina Bausch
She passed away in 2009 and we were lucky enough to be one of her last ‘stops’ before her farewell. Bausch visited Istanbul in 2002 and stayed here for three weeks with her group of thirty dancers and created ‘Breath’. Her work was put on stage in 2003 as a part of Istanbul Cultural Foundation Theatre Festival.
Poster of Pina Bausch ‘Breath’ Performance
The documentary ‘A Breath with Pina Bausch’ was released eleven years after her death, It is a recollection of her stay and her creative process of the great master in Istanbul.
