Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch

The title of this 1984 piece is half a line from the story of the infanticide ordered by King Herod, as described in the Gospel of Matthew. We see a stage shrouded in mist and covered with a thick layer of earth. It is an arid terrain dominated by an initially vague atmosphere of menace and tension. The battlefield of deep human emotions then becomes more tangible. Crime and punishment, love and farewell create deep wounds. We are confronted with the battle of the sexes – completely in keeping with the situation in the eighties. What is disconcerting is that all pity is omitted. Pina Bausch shows us violence in a way she had never done before or since: brutal and extremely physical.

When Pina Bausch died, the realisation grew that an important part of the history of dance had ceased to write itself. This was reason for us to present several highlights from her repertoire at deSingel. ‘Auf dem Gebirge ...’ is a work from the eighties, when Pina Bausch was at the peak of her creativity and was developing the style that made her world-famous. This piece is performed by the company’s younger generation of dancers, as well as several veterans of the original cast.

with 26 dancers from Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch