common ground[s]

Germaine Acogny and her École des Sables encounter the legacy of Pina Bausch

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Dancing at Dusk - A moment with Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring

29 June 2020

Due to the worldwide measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic, the rehearsal of Pina Bausch's The Rite of Spring had to be halted. All planned performances of the double bill common ground[s] • The Rite of Spring were cancelled for the time beeing. Before disbanding in March, rehearsal directors and dancers seized the moment by bringing Pina Bausch’s choreography to the beach of Toubab Dialaw (Senegal) for a last run-through. This spontaneous endeavor was captured on film by filmmaker Florian Heinzen-Ziob and his team, documenting a unique moment of self-empowerment and togetherness.

From 1 – 31 July 2020, the film Dancing at Dusk - A moment with Pina Bausch's The Rite of Spring will be made accessible worldwide via the Sadler's Wells Digital Stage, offering insights into a production that has not yet been shown on stage. Tickets can be purchased or reserved online via Sadler's Wells’ Digital Stage (external link, opens in a new window). The proceeds will be used to support the artists and the production.

Project description

The Pina Bausch Foundation has endeavoured to keep the artistic legacy of the famous choreographer alive for future generations since it was founded in 2009. On the occasion of its tenth anniversary, it has teamed up with the École des Sables (Senegal) on the joint project “common ground[s]” headed by Germaine Acogny. As its name suggests, the project represents a search for common ground, whereby the participating dancers explore the resonances between different dance traditions and works from Africa and Europe. In the process, they experiment with possible ways to convey knowledge and experience in the field of dance.
The project is divided into two parts. In the first, West African dancers will study Pina Bausch’s choreography of Igor Stravinsky’s masterpiece “Le Sacre du printemps”. Although there are no plans to formally modify the piece, one can expect that the African dancers, whose experience is not rooted in the classical European dance canon, will influence the production through their respective dance training and personal backgrounds. Not only is “Le Sacre du printemps” one of Pina Bausch’s key works, it is also one of the choreographer’s most frequently performed pieces. Although it has been shown at numerous venues around the world since its premiere in 1977, it has never been staged in Africa.

For the second part of the project, Germaine Acogny and Malou Ariaudo will develop a joint piece as a dance duet. Although both artists are over 70 years old, they are still active and possess a trove of dance experience. Germaine Acogny is regarded as a pioneer of contemporary African dance, and Malou Ariaudo has had an illustrious dance career as one of the influential protagonists at the Tanztheater Wuppertal and director of the Institute of Contemporary Dance (IZT) at Folkwang University in Essen. The idea of learning from and communicating with one another is a central motif in their duet. The composer Fabrice Buillon is developing a rhythmic score for the piece with five Senegalese percussionists, which he will record and mash up during the performances.

“Common ground[s]” will be shown four times in Dakar in 2020, followed by a performance at the opera house in Wuppertal. The London-based Sadler’s Well Theatre, which is co-financing the production, is also organising a performance tour through several European and African countries. The filmmaker Florian Heinzen-Ziob will produce a documentary film on the development process.

Artistic directors: Jo Ann Endicott, Patric Acogny (SN)
Choreography: Germaine Acogny (SN) and a former member of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch ensemble

Dates end Venues:

Workshop and audition tour, end of 2019: Centre de Développement Chorégraphique La Termitière, Ouagadougou; Compagnie Ange Aoussou, Abidjan; Centre Culturel Blaise Senghor, Dakar
Workshops, spring 2020: Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Wuppertal; Folkwang University of the Arts; Essen
Performances, spring 2020: Centre Culturel Blaise Senghor, Dakar; Théâtre National Daniel Sorano, Dakar; opera house, Wuppertal; film preview & international symposium, spring 2020: Schauspielhaus (Pina Bausch Zentrum), Wuppertal; international guest performances 2020-2022

Events

No upcoming events at present

Contact

Pina Bausch Foundation

Fingscheid 5
42285 Wuppertal

www.pinabausch.org (external link, opens in a new window)