Overview

First full-scale thematic analysis of Pina Bausch's Tanztheater, critically evaluating the impact of modernist theatre on her choreographic method This book presents a new reading of Pina Bausch's dance theatre, orienting it within an international legacy of performance practice. The discussion considers not only the influence of German and American modern dance on Bausch's work but, crucially, interrogates parallels with modernist and postdramatic theatre (including Antonin Artaud, Samuel Beckett, Jerzy Grotowski, and Robert Wilson), the influence of which has been largely neglected in existing studies of her oeuvre. Pina Bausch's Dance Theatre provides a wide-ranging study of Bausch's aesthetic and methods of practice, with case studies ranging from the beginning of her career to her final choreographies. Key Features The first full-scale study interrogating the relationship between Bausch's Tanztheater and modernist theatre practice, structured around a chronological framework of case study choreographiesA new theorisation of the development of Bausch's oeuvre, locating her approach in a broader context of intercultural artistic exchange in the post-WWII periodDraws on literary and theatre theory to form an interdisciplinary methodology for understanding and interrogating Bausch's oeuvreBased on extensive archival research and a specialised knowledge of the evolution of modern dance

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9781474436847

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"Eloquent and probing, Lucy Weir's astonishing book on the late German choreographer Pina Bausch and her Wuppertaler company is a milestone for a fresh and invigorating Anglo-American reception of tanztheater, rediscovering Bausch's early residency in New York, her processing of parallel modern legacies of ballet and dance and her radical shaping of these idioms into a new theatrical language and rehearsal method. Weir's explorations are wide-ranging and brilliant in their insights and interpretive rigor, leading us through decades of work to the late transcultural 'World Cities' productions, and the challenging promise of how to continue the dance after Bausch.-- ""Johannes Birringer, Brunel University"""

Author Information

Lucy Weir is Chancellor's Fellow in History of Art at Edinburgh College of Art, the University of Edinburgh. She is a specialist in modern dance and performance. Her research interests span the fields of live art, theatre and dance, and queer culture and gender studies. She received her PhD from the University of Glasgow in 2013 and has held several teaching and research fellowships. She previously taught at the University of Glasgow, Glasgow School of Art and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

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