Photo credit: Karl-Heinz Krauskopf
(5 / 5)
After seeing Sweet Mambo back in February, I suddenly realised I had to engage with more work of late Pina Bausch. The impact she has had on me is profound, some of the finest work I have seen in London.
Within Kontakthof – Echoes of ’78 lies a conception and direction by Meryl Tankard, in the journey of honouring the original work. Kontakthof first seen at the Opernhaus Wuppertal, 1978 and we see this absorbing, black and white archival footage throughout. You can even hear the sarcastic applause then, as it was created was redefining what dance can be. Bausch and Tankard prove that dance can essential be any form of movement. The village hall set it compelling, the music is heavy on melancholic German cabaret numbers and the costume appears to be nightwear for the ladies and evening attire for the gents. They all thirst their hips, kick march on parade, fail and falter, clap, cry aside energetic passions together and alone.
What is most astounding is the return of these dancers who are from the original run in ’78. What I was not prepared for was the emotional weight of the realisation that a selection of these dancers have passed on. Through this, the doubles we see on screen are met with exact solos for those who remain. I found all this very moving, nearly unbearable. Granted, there are lashings of humour, I often found laughter and smiles abound from myself and this eager audience. How nimble these dancers remain in their 70’s (one or two were in their early 80s).
Welcome introductions faced the end of the first part, as these dancers sat, taking turns to talk briefly. We hear names, nationalities, pathos and the further resilience from all. In the interval I was so stirred, I wondered just how much more I could take of the feeling of it all. I loved just how simple, and flowing the movement was, screen mirrored the stage presence as this dance was always evolving. Naturally, men were in the hunt for the ladies, a mainstay theme in Bausch’s work. One sequence evoked Abramović’s Rhythm 0 as a horde of men manipulated one lone lady, as if a rag doll. Very disturbing.
The second half was much shorter, I imagine the dancers needed a form of rest after a welcome twenty-five minute interval. This might be the best work of dance I have ever seen, I don’t think anything may come close. I’m reeling…..