THE RITE OF BAUSCH
As part of an international tour, this outstanding New York premiere which opened last night showcases a double bill: The Rite of Spring features Pina Bausch’s monumental choreography and Common Ground[s] pays tribute to her by partners at the Pina Bausch Foundation, École des Sables, and Sadler’s Wells.
Germaine Acogny and Malou Airaudo in Common Ground(s)
The 30-minute Common Ground[s] begins in darkness and quiet, as if prior to dawn. When a slow orange light rises on two women, seated side by side with their backs to the audience, they greet the new day by turning to each other with a warm, caring embrace. Whichever relationship you may project onto this couple, it’s a cherished one to say the least. Zeynep Kepekli’s lighting shines down onto the two women, both of whom are in their mid-to-late 70s, and as the sunlight moves throughout the day, they spend their time in movement, caring for one another, supporting, assisting, conversing, singing, and massaging; after separating for moments of alienation, they return with the warmest of support and kindness. By the end of the day, as we’re left in a dimming blue light of night, they exit hand in hand. You can almost hear the packed house sigh from the meaningful, lovely way to spend a day.
Germaine Acogny and Malou Airaudo in Common Ground(s)
Co-choreographed and danced by Germaine Acogny and Malou Airaudo,we cleaarly are amid two matriarchs of dance. Ms. Acogny is known as the mother of contemporary African dance, and Ms. Airaudo is a founding member and icon of Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal.
Germaine Acogny and Malou Airaudo in Common Ground(s)
Very familiar to the world of dance, the musical composition by Fabrice Bouillon LaForest begins with a single sustained note, his score using everything from vibrant musical instrumentation to silence to chirping crickets, collaborating with sound designer Mark Grey.
Germaine Acogny and Malou Airaudo in Common Ground(s)
Across the white Marley floor are little piles of smooth stones, two wooden backless chairs, and a few tall wooden walking sticks. The usual proscenium arch and backstage legs have been removed — showing the impressive vastness of the Park Avenue Armory, easily the most impressive black box theater space in the city.
Pina Bausch's The Rite of Spring
A 30-minute intermission is needed for the hard-working backstage crew of 14 who prepare the space for the second piece, The Rite of Spring. Rolf Borzik’s set design replaces the Marley floor with several dumpsters of brown dirt that are poured over the large, squared stage.
Pina Bausch's The Rite of Spring
The 35-minute piece uses the powerful ballet score by Igor Stravinsky, originally written in 1913 for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes company. “Its unconventional rhythms and dissonant harmonies” [according to program notes] “have long caused a sensation, inciting both fervent admiration and vehement controversy.” With its dynamic, lush score, it matches Pina Bausch’s intense, rigorous choreography — the most athletic, vigorous ballet I’ve ever witnessed. With over 30 dancers from 14 countries across the African continent, it’s thrilling to witness such an exhaustive, ritual work.
Pina Bausch's The Rite of Spring
Bausch’s direction has not often been performed by artists unaffiliated with her company, which may explain the five rehearsal directors (ÇaÄŸdaÅŸ ErmiÅŸ, Ditta Miranda Jasjfi, Barbara Kaufmann, Julie Shanahan, and Kenji Takagi) and the three Restaging Artistic Directors: Jo Ann Endicott, Jorge Puerta Armenta, and Clémentine Deluy.
Pina Bausch's The Rite of Spring
The opening image is that of a woman lying upon a red fabric, which later is balled up and passed among the female ensemble, and lastly worn as a red slip by the chosen human sacrifice. From the dozen women in beige slips and the 18 bare-chested men in black pants (costumes by Borzik), the movement prevails over a nervous anxiety of confrontation. Because there is no delineated backstage space, the dancers run in from the extreme side entrances to the theater with a raw, intense energy. The men mix with the women, lifting them, encircling them, and breaking off into numerous ritualistic patterns of lines, triangles, and circles, ultimately choosing the one to be sacrificed. Dripping from sweat, covered in dirt, and panting for breath, this is a ballet of intense ferocity and chaos that the dancers (and the audience) may never get to experience again in a lifetime.
Pina Bausch's The Rite of Spring
photos taken at Park Avenue Armory by Stephanie Berger
Common Ground[s] / The Rite of Spring
Off-Broadway’s Park Avenue Armory
Wade Thompson Drill Hall
ends on December 14, 2023
for tickets, call 212.933.5812 or visit Armory on Park
tour continues; for dates and cities, visit Pina Bausch Foundation