Pina Bausch

Choreographer, ballet dancer, ballet director

• Born: July 27, 1940
• Birthplace: Solingen, Germany
• Died: June 30, 2009
• Place of death: Wuppertal, Germany

Education: Folkwang Academy, Juilliard School

Significance: Pina Bausch was a German dancer and choreographer known for her groundbreaking work in modern dance beginning in the 1970s. Bausch combined modern dance technique with theatricality to create a new dance form called Tanztheater. The method evoked dancers' emotions in the choreography process, and her productions often featured themes of alienation, pain, and fear. Throughout her career, Bausch's work influenced many future dance makers and other artists.

Background

Pina Bausch was born Philippine Bausch on July 27, 1940, in Solingen, Germany. Her parents were August and Anita Bausch, who owned a small hotel with an attached restaurant. Bausch often helped at the restaurant with her siblings when she was young. She enjoyed dancing as a youngster but did not receive formal training until she was fourteen. She enrolled at the Folkwang Academy in Essen in 1955. She received training from famous choreographer Kurt Jooss, who taught her technique in both classic form and modern dance. After graduating in 1958, she was awarded a scholarship at the Juilliard School and moved to New York to continue studying dance.

Bausch worked with several noted choreographers during her time at Julliard, including José Limon and Antony Tudor. She also worked with outside choreographers such as Paul Taylor. Bausch was thoroughly impressed by the cultural diversity of New York City and remained there a second year. Bausch joined Tudor's company at the Metropolitan Opera so she could remain in the United States. She took full advantage of the surrounding arts scene, seeing as many shows and performances as possible.

Bausch returned to Germany in 1962 to join Jooss's Folkwang Ballet (later renamed Folkwang Tanzstudio) as a soloist. She began assisting Jooss with choreography. When the Tanzstudio was in need of new material, Bausch began choreographing her own dances. She debuted her first independently choreographed work, Fragments, in 1968. Fragments earned her the first prize at the International Choreographic Workshop in 1969. That same year she succeeded Jooss as company director of Folkwang Tanzstudio.

Life's Work

Throughout the 1970s, Bausch collaborated with the ballet at the Wuppertal Opera House as a guest choreographer. With Wuppertal, she choreographed and staged Aktionen für Tänzer (Actions for Dancers) in 1971 and Tannhäuser Bacchanal in 1972. She was then appointed head of the Wuppertal ballet in 1973. The company was renamed Tanztheater Wuppertal, and the theater staged its first original Baush work, Fritz, soon after.

Bausch's early work as director included choreographing dances to two operas composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, Iphigenia in Tauris (1974) and Orpheus and Eurydice (1975). Her career entered the spotlight with her production Frühlingsopfer, choreographed to the music of composer Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. The production reworked Rite of Spring as an allegory for misogyny, and although it divided viewers and critics, it became a milestone for the young choreographer. Bausch's style and technique shifted following Frühlingsopfer, and in the period between 1976 and 1978, she incorporated popular music and German folk songs into her productions. She began having her dancers sing along with the music and incorporated aspects of theater into her works. Her productions emphasized realism and often carried messages of social criticism. This approach alienated some of her dancers, so Bausch began working with a smaller dance troupe who understood her style.

The late 1970s produced some of Bausch's most famous works including 1977's Bluebeard and 1978's Cafe Müller, which she based on her own childhood memories at her parents' hotel. In 1980 Bausch's husband died of leukemia. In the decade that followed, many of her productions focused on themes of pain and fear. In addition to the stage, Bausch's work found its way into film. She performed in Federico Fellini's 1983 film And the Ship Sails On. As dance theater became more popular, Bausch began taking her productions to other countries, including Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, the United States, India, and Japan. Her work was awarded the New York Bessie Award in 1984 and earned many other international awards over the next decade.

During the 1990s, Bausch incorporated lighter themes into her dances, resulting in productions such as Danzón (1995) and Masurca Fogo (1998). In 2002 Bausch appeared in the film Talk to Her, which also featured her choreography. Her production Orpheus and Eurydice was then restaged for the Paris Opera Ballet in 2005. The following year she was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award for outstanding achievement in dance. She earned the Kyoto Prize for Arts and Philosophy in 2007 and Germany's Goethe Prize in 2008. She continued to stage original productions throughout the 2000s. Bausch began working on a documentary about her career with filmmaker Wim Wenders in 2009 but was unable to complete the project after she was diagnosed with cancer. Bausch died on June 30, 2009, at the age of 68. Wenders's documentary, Pina, was released in theaters in 2011.

Impact

Bausch redefined the limits of modern dance with an innovative style of choreography that merged dance and drama. Her productions made a great impression on the course of modern dance, and her style inspired many other artistic mediums over the years. Alongside her many accolades, she was awarded multiple honorary doctorates throughout her career.

Personal Life

Bausch's first husband, Rolf Borzik, died of leukemia in 1980. She met Ronald Kay shortly after, and the two remained together until Bausch's death. Bausch and Kay had a son, Salomon, born in 1981.

Principal Works

Choreography

Frühlingsopfer, 1975

Bluebeard, 1977

Café Müller, 1978

Waizer, 1982

Viktor, 1986

Danzón, 1995

Vollmond, 2006

Bibliography

Lachno, James. "Pina Bausch – Profile.'" Telegraph, 21 Apr. 2011, www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/8464352/Pina-Bausch-Profile.html. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.

Mackrell, Judith. "Farewell to Pina Bausch, the Dangerous Magician of Modern Dance." Guardian, 30 June 2009, www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/jun/30/pina-bausch-modern-dance. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.

"Pina Bausch." Brooklyn Academy of Music, www.bam.org/artists/pina-bausch. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.

"Pina Bausch – Life and Works." Stanford University, prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/bausch/life.html. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.

"Talking about People through Dance – Pina Bausch Biography." Pina Bausch Foundation, www.pinabausch.org/en/pina/biography. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.

Wakin, Daniel J. "Pina Bausch, German Choreographer, Dies at 68." New York Times, 30 June 2009, www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/arts/dance/01bausch.html?mcubz=1. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.

Wiegand, Chris. "Pina Bausch Tributes: 'She Got the Keys to Your Soul.'" Guardian, 3 July 2009, www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/jul/03/pina-bausch-tributes. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.