Pina Bausch's last dance at BAM!

Last Friday, October 25, during the last week of a two-week run  at BAM, Pina Bausch Tanztheater Wuppertal's “... como el musguito en la piedra, ay  si, si, si ...” (Like moss on a stone) was in one word -- beautiful.  Not only does she masterfully include the audience, absolutely every time  (taking and polishing a pair of glasses from an audience member, bringing us into every conversation, or waiting for the right cue for a laugh), the unmistakable Bausch style remains (sumptuous dresses and daringly pumps for the  women, sleek suits for the men and grandiose dancing for all).  The many interspersed vignettes are also there, one of the most memorable moments was Fernando Suels Mendoza seated downstage right greeting the fabulous  Tanztheater women one by one, as they enter from the audience with accolades upon accolades in English Spanish and Italian ("wow," "bellisima," "dame un beso").  The many solos are also exquisite where Bausch shows each dancer at their best.  How terribly special it was to see Dominique Mercy glide across the stage
(he joined Tanztheater Wuppertal in 1974, one year after Bausch.  Sorely missing was the raspy voice and the commanding dancing of Nazareth Panadero.  Framing the evening was the collaborative energies of set designer by Peter Pabst, costume designer by Marion Cito and musical collaborators Matthias Burkert and Andreas
Eisenschneider. It was indeed one of Pina Bausch’s signature, long evening, but  what a lovely evening. Pina Baush will be missed.  Sumptuous, simply sumptuous! 

This BAM page offers such a fabulous retrospective with a lovely chronology of the works plus a nice array of video clips. http://www.bam.org/artists/pina-bausch -

Pina Bausch - Photo:Wilfried Krüger

Photograph by Stephanie Berger