Pina + Igor
This weekend I went to see Pina Bausch's version of Igor Stravinsky's ballet and orchestral work Rite of Spring at the Park Avenue Armory.
I'm no Bausch expert, but the choreography, set dress, and lighting seemed very much in line with her aesthetic.
And the musical accompaniment - at times tranquil, at times disturbing and frantic - very Igor (though I’m no Stravinsky expert either).
The production was danced by an all-African ensemble from 14 different nations trained at The École des Sables, a dance school near Dakar, Senegal.
What is Rite of Spring?
ROS is an episodic ballet in two parts.
The first part presents a series of scenes themed on "The Adoration of the Earth".
The dance depicts a pagan celebration of spring. There are two tribes. Maidens in motion. Elders bless the earth. All is in harmony.
The opening musical sequence is played by a solo bassoon in a very high register, which adds mystery to the time and place because the instrumentation almost-unidentifiable.
Things get frantic in the second episode (still in Part One) as the score introduces the pounding rhythms that ROS is best known for.
There is a constant shifting of the accent of the pulse that forces one to pay attention:
one two three four five six seven eight (no accent)
one TWO three FOUR five six seven eight (on 2 and 4)
one TWO three four FIVE six seven eight (on 2 and 5)
ONE two three four five SIX seven eight (on 1 and 6)
And so on.
Even if you know what is going on, the unpredictability makes you FEEL like you don’t know what is going on and forces all attention to the proceedings.
The second part of the ballet is called "The Sacrifice".
After playing a round of dance games, one of the maidens is honored as the "Chosen One". This sounds nice until we learn that being chosen means being selected for sacrifice.
As the disturbing final episode plays out, the Chosen One dances herself to death from exhaustion. Again, no expert here, but I think this idea of “dancing equals living” is also consistent with Pina Bausch’s philosophy and may have attracted her to this work by Stravinsky.
The demanding nature of ROS really brings out the grace and strength of the dancers, and IMO can turn doubters into fans of modern dance.
Pina Bausch died in 2009, but her foundation (the PBF) keeps her work alive by commissioning a widening circle of companies and audiences to keep the works staged.
The day after the performance we watched the biopic Pina by Wim Wenders. If you can't go see a live performance, this filmic elegy offers good way to enter Pina's world for the first time.
More here ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pina_Bausch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Stravinsky
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/25/arts/dance/pina-bausch-rite-of-spring-armory-germaine-acogny.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rite_of_Spring
AFTER WORD: As a young musician, my father performed an arrangement of ROS for concert band and told me it was very challenging. I can only imagine trying to stay on a shifting pulse like that. At that speed. In a large ensemble.
