Upon first glance, Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring may be perceived as an atypical modern dance piece. While the inception of modern dance was intended to challenge many of dance’s traditional aspects, The Rite of Spring is still a jarring surprise to the audience. The guttural, primal, violent repetitions of movement counter conventions of dance as being graceful, controlled, and silent. The spreading of soil on the stage is a tool that in addition to serving the scene and nature of the piece, shocks and intrigues the audience. However, The Rite of Spring is more rooted in traditional modern dance than younger counterparts of Bausch’s pieces of “Tanztheater.”
Tanztheater (dance-theater, in German) may be described as “the union of genuine dance and theatrical methods of stage performance, creating a new, unique dance form,” (Stanford University). Bausch is one of the most internationally celebrated choreographers of Tanztheater, which is reflected and justified upon witnessing Café Müller. The piece is choreographed similarly to how a play may be structured. In contrast to the traditional ensemble of corps and soloists in The Rite of Spring, Café Müller consists of distinct featured characters who each fulfill a specific and important role in relation to one another. For example, two women sleepwalk while a man moves obstacles out of their way, preventing them from hurting themselves. The dance is structured theatrically in that there are separate tracks and stories that an audience may follow. I, personally, found it difficult to decide on whom to focus. The dance becomes an entirely different performance based on whom the audience decides to place their primary focus, which I find similar to a piece of theater. One can apprehend the trajectory and evolution of Bausch’s approach to choreography as her execution of Tanztheater moves increasingly into theatrical territory.
