Based on my limited exposure to Bausch’s work, I can certainly say that David Jays seems to understand her choreography. To describe Cafe Muller as a “loose, unpredictable montage(s) of scenes, strung together by free association,” seems entirely appropriate. It may feel a bit strange to refer to The Rite of Spring as conventional in any sense, but in contrast with Bausch’s later work, it is certainly less avant-garde.
For one thing, The Rite of Spring does not ask you to reconsider your definition of dance. It is more aggressive and less dainty than, for instance, productions of The Nutcracker that we have all suffered through one December or another, but it is at least partially recognizable as the same medium. There is still synchronization of the company, built around the dynamics of the accompaniment, there is still a linear plot, still a prima ballerina, still the uniform costume. The Rite of Spring, too, stimulates the eyes in the same way a piece of ballet or jazz dance might– creating a living canvas with which the viewer is forced to engage, much like the op art of Bridget Riley or Victor Vasarely. Indeed, there is no hesitation to refer to The Rite of Spring as art– perhaps because people will not hesitate to call anything beautiful, an attractive woman or the view on hiking trip, art. And The Rite of Spring is certainly beautiful, if not a little frightening.
Cafe Muller, on the other hand, lacks all the attributes I first listed. There is little synchronization of the company, the choreography does not seem to correspond directly with the accompaniment, the plot is not linear or traditional (if there even is a plot at all), there is no leader of the company, and no uniform costume. I did not find it to be pleasing to the eye in the way that The Rite of Spring was. Thus, there is some hesitation to put this in the same category as art and dance. It evokes the almost trite, defining question of modern art: what is art? Specifically, what is dance? What is choreography? Because that which I have seen before certainly did not look, or feel, like this.
