ABSTRACT
Although it is generally acknowledged that Tanztheater is a genre exclusive to German culture, its equivalent in English, the term ‘dance-theatre’, is conventionally used to designate contemporary productions that do not rely on the language of dance as the sole means of expression. If considered from this standpoint, the works of Maguy Marin are fitting examples of ‘dance-theatre’, for the dance medium is often circumscribed by the concomitance of other elements, including aural, vocal, and visual ones. It is not incidental, therefore, that some dance historians and reviewers have labelled Marin’s choreography the ‘French answer to Tanztheater’. At the same time, her formulae differ considerably from those of, for example, Pina Bausch and Susanne Linke, whose works refer more or less explicitly to the canons of German Expressionism, and indeed do not stem from any specific artistic or cultural movement.
