louise on the left (coast)

I first saw Pina Bausch at The Brooklyn Academy of Music in the late fall of 1985.  Then, again in 1986.  I had no idea who she was when I was first invited to go see her work, and to be honest, had no idea what I was in store for when the lights went up. It was only after seeing  Pina Bausch 's Tanztheater Wuppertal perform that fall, when I finally discovered that a medium as elusive as "Dance" can provide work that is both exquisitely beautiful, heartbreaking and crashingly slapstick all at the same time. Director and choreographer Pina Bausch (July 27, 1940 - June 30, 2009) "Cafe Muller" (1978, TV version 1985) Cast: Pina Bausch, Malou Airaudo, Domenique Mercy, Jan Minarik, Nazareth Panadero, Jean Laurent Sasportes. Musiс by Henry Purcell / "The Fairy Queen" and "Dido and Aeneas" When I looked at the calendar change today, to November, I suddenly, inexplicably, had a flashback to this period in New York City of November in 1986

We've all heard it before:  "Less is more."  But what does that mean regarding movement? "Less is more" is the mantra every actor and writer is hit over the head with, nearly hourly, by every teacher, choreograper or director they'll ever work with.    And as they'll all tell you, it is mu ch easier said than done.  Below's video, "World Order," by Genki Sudo puts this deceptively complicated artistic theory to practice in the medium of dance.    *Note:  You will NEVER see ensemble work performed ANY more exquisitely than you see here.  This is the gold standard for ensemble work.  Period.  And, note, you will never see a performance of our beating heart performed any more beautifully and powerfully than you see starting in about Minute 3:48.  Moving and gorgeous.  I'm in awe. Okay, I'll admit I'd never heard of Genki Sudo, before, but by minute 3:48 I was a complete goner and had completely fallen under the m