New Piece I – Since She

Nine years after Pina Bausch’s sudden departure, the artistic director of the Tanztheater Wuppertal, Adolphe Binder, invites an outsider in to choreograph the legendary company for the first time: Dimitris Papaioannou. It will be a first for him, too: the first time he’s choreographed for anyone except his own company. Accepting the enormous challenge with “Since She”, Papaioannou manages to pay homage to the great Pina with his characteristically magical images, while simultaneously breathing new life into her dance legacy. A series of images of magnificent pictorial beauty draw on the world of Pina Bausch for their elegance and unexpected surrealism. Without losing sight for a moment either of his training as a painter or his Greek references, Dimitris Papaioannou transforms the stage into a mirror in which every nuance of human existence is revealed.

Onassis Stegi is a co-producer in this important venture. This is the third occasion on which Dimitris Papaioannou has collaborated with the Onassis Stegi, and follows on from the great success of both “Still Life” (2014) and “The Greater Tamer” (2017).

The chairs on which the dancers balance, and which ultimately become a Sisyphean burden, are a reference to “Café Müller” (1978), Pina Bausch’s iconic choreography in which she danced the most beautiful and expressive solo ever created. The chairs allude to her childhood in her parents' restaurant in Solingen— it was looking through their legs, looking out from under the tables she loved to hide under, that the incomprehensible adult world of Cold War Germany was revealed to her.

The history of the Tanztheater Wuppertal begins in 1973, when, having been appointed Artistic Director of the Wuppertal Opera Ballet, Pina Bausch immediately renamed it. With hard work, determinedly fighting to impose her vision, Pina Bausch and her company conquered the world dance stage. The Tanztheater Wuppertal became famous and toured cities the length and breadth of the globe, winning prestigious awards and distinctions along the way.

The concept of a spectacle that was simultaneously both theatre and dance proved hard to accept at first, but would end up altering the course of dance forever and earning Pina Bausch a place in history as the most important choreographer of the 20th century. She died in 2009, leaving behind an ensemble performing at an extremely high level.

Precisely why Pina Bausch’s works are so appealing remains a mystery. Could it be the peculiar combination of poetic and everyday scenes performed by dancers using techniques from both ballet and theatre? Or perhaps the profound references to archetypal conceptions of male and female? No one knows the answer. What we do know, however, is that Pina Bausch always managed to find a way into her audience’s heart.

Pina Bausch maintained a close and deeply human relationship with her dancers—might this be one of the key elements in the company’s uniqueness? Wim Wenders’ film “Pina” is another tribute to the unforgettable Pina Bausch, both from himself and the dancers of the Tanztheater Wuppertal.

The Tanztheater Wuppertal is currently home to 38 dancers. Its artistic director is Adolphe Binder, the dramatist, writer, curator and producer.