A particularly lovely thing about art, amongst other particularly lovely things, of course, is its fluidity. I say art is fluid for several reasons. Art moves and grows, obviously like a fluid. A fluid can change in accordance with its container. Art can change in order to fit or reject its context. However, regardless of you freezing this liquid or condensing it, the chemical composition remains the same. Water frozen is still water when in liquid form. The only thing that has truly changed is the medium the water is presented in. This reminds me of a singular meaning I took from two very different dances choreographed by Pina Bausch.
Pina Bausch The Rite of Spring (1975) and Cafe Muller (1985) carry an essence of fatalism, they carry a coldness that is attributed to the repetitiveness of life and a world lacking free will. Nonetheless, these pieces present this message differently as Bausch’s style apparently changes. In The Rite of Spring, there is the use of more formal dance conventions. During the dance, I noticed the turned out feet of the dancers and the harmonious movement of the dancers which point to a more classical means of dance. The repetitive nature of life is represented by the uniform, powerful cyclical motions. This is especially evident where the dancers run in a circle. These movements occur so sharply and accurately that it appears they are being ordered to do so by an omnipresent and somehow innate unseen force, thus highlighting a lack of free-will. Also much like a more conventional form of a dancer, the dancer’s emotions were easy enough to read thus helping to send Bausch’s message, perhaps. They breathed and moved with exhaustion, with fear and panic. These emotions were tangible and so easily transferred to me. I felt the excitement of the dancers and even their unity, within me. The intensity seems to force the audience into becoming a part of the performance, emotionally at least. These strong feelings brought me to evaluate my life and where I feel this sense of urgency in completing certain patterns and whether I should interpret it as a positive or negative force in my life.
In Cafe Muller, a more esoteric style of dance is portrayed. Despite the difference in style though I noticed that the props used in each piece make movements more difficult for the dancers. The chairs Cafe Muller get in the way of the dancers and the peat in The Rite of Spring make the footwork more strenuous. Although the mediums differ, one piece uses household items as obstacles while the other piece utilizes nature as such, both allowed me to understand the sense that living and working through life can be a struggle. The movement through life in Cafe Muller is much less pointed and graceful than in The Rite of Spring. I noticed the dancer’s feet were not posed for the most part. The forced patterns are more aggressively obvious, more obviously tiring for the viewer as opposed to obviously tiring for the dancers (as was the case in The Rite of Spring)at some points at least. This is especially true for the particular repetition of a man and a woman embracing. They are forced into a certain position by another man. When he walks away, the pair returns to their original position and when he returns he forces them back into his desired pose. This becomes a cycle. Eventually, the pair begins to perform the cycle without help from the man. This represents a grim habit and lack of free will. This pattern was harsh, devoid of palpable emotion and much less graceful than the patterns in The Rite of Spring. This piece is so moving because it is almost nearly devoid of true emotion so it brings the audience to consider their own reactions to the piece. I felt a dull melancholy while watching and so I was forced to consider the semblances of melancholic routines in my own life.
