Kontakthof – Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch/Sadler’s Wells, London (LAST CHANCE TO SEE)

A review of Kontakthof, performed by Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch at Sadler’s Wells (and choreographed by their namesake). A battle royale of the sexes in a dance hall setting.

Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch

As something of a dance novice, personal connection is often a way in for me when I’m selecting performances to see. I wanted to see the dance company Rambert after seeing Michael Clark: Cosmic Dancer at the Barbican. And I wanted to see Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch because a friend of mine once lived in Wuppertal and I even spent a Christmas there. So when I saw they were performing at Sadler’s Wells, I was quite excited.

Pina Bausch was a very influential German dancer and choreographer. Her neo-expressionist style became known as ‘Tanztheater‘, or ‘dance theatre’. From what I saw last night, Tanztheater is certainly a broader category than pure dance. It incorporates many other dramatic elements, and traces its history to the Weimar Republic and 1920s Vienna. In 1973 Bausch became the artistic director of Wuppertal’s ballet company. She renamed it Tanztheater Wuppertal, and began to create pieces that expressed her artistic vision, regardless of whether they would find an understanding audience or not. Recurrent themes in these works include relationships and trauma, and they tend to be made up of short, often surreal sections with a lot of repetition.

Pina Bausch became an incredibly influential choreographer and worked with many famous names (you may recall that she worked with Shantala Shivalingappa who we saw in aSH). She died in 2009, but Tanztheater Wuppertal continues to bear her name and to perform many of her works. Kontakthof, which is the subject of today’s post, dates to 1978 and first came to London in the early 1980s.

Kontakthof

A lot of the elements I outlined above come together in Kontakthof. It is a work about relationships, connection, the indignities we put up with to find or stay in love. It plays out a little like a battle royale of the sexes. There is repetition, and a series of scenes which are often surreal, verging on the Kafkaesque. Kontakthof is set in a 1930s dance hall. Around 20 men and women start by checking themselves over: teeth, hair, posture. We see the lovely pastel dresses of the women (designed by Rolf Borzik). And the wide range of dancers who make up the company.

As the work progresses, there are funny moments (including some unexpected audience interaction) and a lot of disquieting moments. Bausch has a way of getting into all the uncomfortable spaces that we don’t often (want to) think about. Emma Barrowman dances the lead role, which calls on her to run an artistic gamut from catty gossiping to a music hall double act to weeping for a lost love. The entire company have mastered this physically and emotionally demanding work; they create an ever shifting atmosphere which keeps the audience on their proverbial toes.

I think the main drawback is that Kontakthof is three hours long, with two of those hours before the interval. There were times when I wished for a little less repetition, despite understanding its intent. It felt like part of that intent on Bausch’s part to strive for utmost artistic integrity rather than letting the audience off easy. The overall audience response was very positive, but it was a little much for me. I’m very glad to have had the opportunity to have seen Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, however, and to have plugged a gap in my knowledge of modern dance.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3/5

Kontakthof on at Sadler’s Wells until 6 February 2021