ABSTRACT
Pina Bausch assiduously avoided talking about her pieces, let alone writing anything down. Bausch did speak, despite her reticence, and speak eloquently about the struggle to create, refining a way of working, and the importance of people in her process, in all their sad and vulnerable beauty. Bausch emphasizes the importance of tenderness and respect in rehearsal, for creating an environment where people can open up, and for the kindness it takes to allow a piece to come into shape. Bausch's approach to representation is essentially descriptive, but takes as its starting point the condition of our bodies in the revelation of experience. It's hard enough to describe precisely what it is that she does, but theater and dance artists can see it; they see something different in her works, something provocative that subtly changes the ground of performance practice. Most of the members of the ensemble, past and present, come with substantial dance training, often in classical ballet technique.
