Pina Bausch, 1940-2009

July 1, 2009 5:58 AM

Pina Bausch, one of the foremost choreographers of the last thirty years, died June 30th. Over the three decades she lead the Tanz-theater Wuppertal her choreography attracted an international following with its complex mix of theatricality, humor, and often pointed depictions of the relationships between men and women.

It's difficult to convey through film and video the impact dance can have and often Bausch filled the stage with activity, but this clip (watched to the end), shows one of those gems, if not it's setting.

In 2006 this documentary was made for German TV (sadly it's not sub-titled) and also has quite a few excerpts from her work.

posted by From Bklyn (14 comments total)

Thanks so much for posting this. I've mourned the passing of other artists before, but I don't think I've ever been so sad to know that I will never be able to see someone's work again.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 6:12 AM on July 1, 2009

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posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:50 AM on July 1, 2009

Her cameo in Almodovar's Hable Con Ella.

She was amazing.
posted by Pallas Athena at 7:04 AM on July 1, 2009

She was indeed amazing. Thank you for the post.
posted by blucevalo at 7:33 AM on July 1, 2009

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posted by roll truck roll at 7:55 AM on July 1, 2009

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posted by jrb223 at 8:00 AM on July 1, 2009

Supremely talented. A real loss.

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posted by trip and a half at 8:39 AM on July 1, 2009

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posted by jokeefe at 9:39 AM on July 1, 2009

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posted by Hairy Lobster at 10:28 AM on July 1, 2009

A nice appraisal of her work in the New York Times. It's a shame there are not better, more accessible videos of her work out there - she was such a visual choreographer. I'll not only miss her work, but her dancers dancing her work. Their characters and the personality they projected were such a huge component, I can not begin to imagine what is must be like for them. Like losing your home.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:03 PM on July 1, 2009

I briefly met Pina Bausch about 15 years ago: I was helping a family friend (my godmother) who used to run a ballet school set up a few shows, basically as a stagehand/production assistant/whatevs, and Mrs. Bausch was in town and stopped at the theater to visit my friend, whom she knew for a long time. I remember all the dancers who were rehearsing coming to a gasping, starstruck halt while she entered the stage with -I guess- her assistant, she was so thin, and immense, at the same time.

My friend was so kind to introduce me and she said (they were speaking in German) something like "if she makes you work half as hard as she trains her dancers (some of whom made it to her company) , you'll be a theatre manager in a short time".

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posted by _dario at 12:50 PM on July 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

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posted by Wolof at 4:54 PM on July 1, 2009

I was in Wuppertal yesterday, and they took her death hard.

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posted by John of Michigan at 7:16 PM on July 1, 2009

Oh, this is sad news. I don't know much about modern dance but I saw her Mazurca Fogo just a few years ago and it blew me away. Too bad there's no video of the complete performance, (a short snippet is one of the links in the post). Thanks for this From Brklyn.
posted by storybored at 11:21 AM on July 2, 2009