Nelken (Carnations). A piece by
Pina Bausch
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina
Bausch. Director and choreographer. Pina Bausch.Designed by Peter Pabst.
Costtume design. Marion Cito. Presented by arrangement with Arts Project Australia.
The Festival Theatre. Adelaide Festival Centre. Adelaide Festival of Arts 2016
Dancers: Regina Advento,Pablo Aran Gimeno, Emma Barrowman, Andrey Berezin, Michael Carter, Cagdas Ermis, Jonathan Fredrickson, Scott Jennings, Eddie Martinez, Blanca Noguerol Ramirez, Breanna O’Mara, Franko Schmidt, Julie Shanahan, Julie Anne Stanzak, Julian Stierle, Michael Strecker, Fernando Suels Mendoza, Tsai-Wei Tien, Anna Wehsang, Paul White, Ophelia Young, Tsai-Chin Yu
Stuntmen: Bodo Haack, Juergen Klein, Hendrik Mohr, Robert Schenker
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
Nelken by Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch Photo by Walter Li |
What a magnificent tribute to the
genius and spirit of the late dancer and choreographer, Pina Bausch! Nelken
(Carnations), marks a return of Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch after an
absence of sixteen years and judging by the standing ovation of the opening
night audience at Adelaide’s Festival Theatre, it is a return welcomed with
enthusiastic rapture by audiences at the Adelaide Festival of Arts.
Julie Anne Stanzak in Nelken Photo by Oliver Look |
Nelken is not a new work,
although some of the sequences, involving the hard lined attitude towards
immigrants, the use of a deodorizer, reminiscent of the Australian custom in planes arriving in
Australia, and the threatening aggression of male intimidation may suggest some
reworking of Bausch’s original choreography. Whatever the case, the combination
of dance and theatre and its fluid progression from solo movement to ensemble
frenzy and graceful resolution is a familiar and yet fresh and spontaneous element of Bausch’s
oeuvre. It is all a matter of interpretation, but whatever the interpretation,
Bausch’s invention and distinctive style provides a wonderland of mesmerizing,
perplexing, stimulating and evocative imagery.
As one enters, one encounters a
field of pink carnations across the stage. According to mythology, it is
believed that pink carnations symbolize a mother’s undying love, while red
carnations denote deep love and affection. A dancer leaps onto another and
clings for affection. A slap is followed by a kiss. Males dress in long dresses
and men tumble from tables with physical force to demonstrate devotion before
the woman. Bausch’s work embodies the human condition, the longing, the pain,
the ironic and the absurd. Vignettes express the desire for control as in the
hilarious game of What’s The Time Mr. Wolf or the passport controller with a
penchant for intimidation. Four docile German Shepherd dogs conjure memories of
guard dogs, capable of fierce response at a single command. Gradually the field
of carnations becomes more and more trampled. A half-naked woman with a wooden accordion
recalls the harsh reality of the Weimar years. Reality, fantasy and myth fuse
in a dynamic expression of the human psyche and the essential nature of the
human being. The familiar Bausch parade of unified movement and gesture, either
in recurrent circles upon the stage, or swan like on chairs, recalls the
mesmerizing unity of people caught within a community of conformity. Rhythmic
and gestural, it is hypnotic and mesmerizing in its inherent symbolism.
Nelken with Lutz Foerster Photo by Maarten Vanden Abeele |
Nelken. Photo by Oliver Look |
We are left with revelation. Each
dancer approaches to confess their inspiration. For one it was a deformity that
led him to become a dancer. For another it was wanting to be different. For
another it just seemed easier than speaking. For one it was seeing Sleeping Beauty, while for another it
was fear of her students, and for yet another it was just by chance. And so they
must dance, and love and live as must we all.
Some may say that there is not
enough dance, although the physical agility, grace and stamina presents the
dancer. Some may say that the theatre is obscure. Nelken is a sensual feast, a visual delight and the work of this
great innovator of dance theatre and contemporary movement still so long after
its original performance holds the power to excite, to move and to open heart
and mind to a universal world. Theater Wuppertal’s return to Australia has been timely. The work
still remains timeless.