Pina Bausch’s reinvention of The Rites of Spring in 1975 and its impact on dance

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Theater Studies, Dance, grade: 2:1, Buckinghamshire New University, course: BA (Hons) Musical Theatre, language: English, abstract: The present paper is an examination of the work of Pina Bausch, choreographer of the ensemble Tanztheater Wuppertal, focusing on the ‘masterpiece’ (Smith, C 2013) that was The Rites of Spring in 1975, a reinvention of an original ballet performed by the Ballet Russe in 1913, choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky, and composed by Igor Stracinsky. For Bausch movement was to be the secondary focus with a development and denouement of the piece. I will bring attention to how The Rites of Spring tackles the male and female relationship through balletic contemporary choreography, questioning Bausch’s development on dance and education today. Drawing upon some of her other pieces such as Kontakthof (1978) and Cafe Muller (1978), I will explore the methodologies used and whether these methods have influenced other practitioners and if her work is still relevant today.