Friday 30 January 2015


Photo: Karl-Heinz Krauskopf

'Auf dem Gebirge hat man ein Geschrei gehört' – Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch 
20 december 2014 – deSingel Antwerp 

PinaPinaotherwise we are lost 

There you are, a very expensive ticket in one pocket, the program in the other, surrounded by hundreds of people, all waiting for the lights to dim, as another Pina Bausch masterpiece is ready for take-off. And so it begins; a stream of dancers runs across the edges of the stage into the audience. They carry frightened faces and hurried bodies. Immediately the tone is set for the rest of the pieceQuite literally the audience is sucked into a powerful performance where emotions of relentlessness, desire and vulnerability are key.  

As the piece unravels, the audience witnesses different scenes; dynamic group pieces make place for demure solo parts. The stage transforms from a living room setting to a forest, to a rowing contest. Sometimes scenes reoccur, allowing the audience to sit back in their seats and take a breath. Admirable though is the ease with which one scene follows the other. The strong dramaturgical line carries the audience through a two hour lasting performance without them drifting off.  

Although it may feel like flipping through TV channels, the piece forms a coherent whole. The different scenes are united as they portray social issues and reflect recognizable human emotions. The whole performance is covered in an air of ruthlessness and destruction, leading to a fearful and hurried dance vocabularyThe dancers are agitated and beaten up. Exhausted they run, flee across the stage over and over again until they surrender. The choreography is energetic and engages the audience.  
Photo: peek a boo magazine
man walks on stage with nothing more than his swimming pants and bathing cap to cover his naked body. He takes a balloon out of his pants and starts to blow it very slowly until it explodes. Later on he comes back and carries a couple of blown up balloons and lets himself down with a thud, aiming for the balloons to explode. These actions seem quite dramatic as I write them down, but in fact they appear funny due to the total lack of facial expressions and awkward context.  Although the pieces underlying tone is that of sadness and vulnerability, it seems like  it is covered with humour and lightness.  

Auf dem Gebirge hat man ein Geschrei gehört’ is another strong Pina Bausch performanceThe choreographer managed to find a balance between energy and vulnerable and  sober parts, between despair and lightness, severity and humor. The clever transitions create an engaging rhythm between the different scenes. Although they are well put together, it must be said that not all scenes give an equally powerful image. All together ‘Auf dem Gebirge hat man ein Geschrei gehört is certainly a strong and universal piece, but isn’t as memorable as some of Bausch’s other pieces.   

Jo Tengan

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