Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch returns to BAM without their fearless leader (photo by Jan Szito)
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
September 29 – October 9, $25 – $85
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.pina-bausch.de
Back in 1984, Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch performed at BAM for the first time, presenting DAS FRÜHLINGSOPFER and LE SACRE DU PRINTEMPS, and over the years the insanely entertaining German troupe has returned with such memorable evening-length pieces as DANZÓN, MASURCA FOGO, NEFÉS, and last year’s BAMBOO BLUES. And for Bausch, evening-length really means evening-length, as many of her productions run between two and a half and three hours, and they rarely if ever lag. Instead they’re filled with offbeat humor, playful dialogue, unusual props, wild stage designs, and, of course, creative movement. Bausch died in June 2009 at the age of sixty-eight, so this will mark Tanztheater Wuppertal’s first BAM appearance without their endlessly innovative and always elegant director and choreographer. VOLLMOND (FULL MOON) will run at the Howard Gilman Opera House from September 29 through October 9, but tickets are already scarce, so act quickly, whether you’re a fan of contemporary dance or not, because you’ll find lots to love regardless. Bausch’s twelfth show at BAM features set design by Peter Pabst, costumes by Marion Cito, and musical collaboration by Matthias Burkert and Andreas Eisenschneider, with an eclectic score that includes songs by Magyar Posse, Cat Power, Amon Tobin, René Aubry, Alexander Balanescu, Tom Waits, Siegfried Ganhör and to rococo rot, Jun Miyake and Sublime, and others. There will also be a lot of water.