tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post4786972075945650699..comments2023-12-27T05:20:26.800-05:00Comments on BAM blog: In Context: KontakthofUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-12583314264389101622014-12-12T17:16:40.801-05:002014-12-12T17:16:40.801-05:00After reading the comments below, I decided to see...After reading the comments below, I decided to see the performance again and write this blog post about it: <br /><br />http://kitbakerii.blogspot.com/2014/11/fear-and-loathing-in-kontakthof.htmlKithttp://www.kitbaker.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-24738565656619649872014-11-07T00:33:40.302-05:002014-11-07T00:33:40.302-05:00what is "engaging" choreography?
Are ...what is "engaging" choreography? <br /><br />Are you implying the choreography has to engage with you not the other way around?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-56280398447302983622014-11-06T07:47:24.176-05:002014-11-06T07:47:24.176-05:00I agree, way too repetitive with not enough dance....I agree, way too repetitive with not enough dance. The picking at the one woman dancer toward the end was really horrible. I might have liked it better if the seats in the balcony hadn't been uncomfortable and it hadn't been so hot but it was more of a "think" piece and I wanted dance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-38155458149885086512014-11-05T12:06:32.060-05:002014-11-05T12:06:32.060-05:00I have followed and loved the work of Pina Bausch ...I have followed and loved the work of Pina Bausch for several years and was thrilled to see that Kontakthof, one of my favorite pieces was returning to NYC so that I could see it again and encouraged others to do so as well. But I was disappointed…not with the performers or the segments that were left intact. But a number of segments were either left out, changed or watered down taking away from the depth and brilliance of her choreography and vision.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-69459628432155882732014-11-04T22:46:00.796-05:002014-11-04T22:46:00.796-05:00I first saw this piece in 1978, when it had just b...I first saw this piece in 1978, when it had just been created, in Buenos Aires. I was very young but I still remember clearly being blown away by this masterpiece.<br /><br />Now, so many years later, it has not lost an ounce of its hypnotic beauty.<br /><br />Thanks to the company for having restaged it.<br /><br />Love to allVirginia Fineberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01900912124372076583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-81386261769738421652014-11-03T22:07:30.903-05:002014-11-03T22:07:30.903-05:00I bought my ticket online from Norway, arriving Ne...I bought my ticket online from Norway, arriving New York saturday. Sunday afternoon I thought I wanted to make plans for my metro-travelling and dinner-eating nearby BAM in good time, only to find out that the show already started. I just assumed it would be at 19, or 19.30. Totally my own responsibility, but I was so dissapointed! I did really look forward to it. I saw the company in the opera house in Oslo and liked it very much.<br />fr.martinsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13113516134552431207noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-27990737501664742912014-11-03T19:42:24.549-05:002014-11-03T19:42:24.549-05:00I saw Bausch's Orpheus and Eurydice performed ...I saw Bausch's Orpheus and Eurydice performed by the Paris Opera Ballet 2 years ago and enjoyed it immensely. The audience had mixed reviews then as well.<br /><br />I loved the movie Pina and especially enjoyed the excerpts from Kontakthof, so I was pleased to hear that it would be performed at BAM. I made a trip down to NYC to see the piece and was especially moved by the recurring dance with small gestures. The dancers are wonderful and I liked the music, which comes from a time period that I find interesting.<br />My only problem is the theatre itself. Luckily I had an orchestra aisle seat and could see part of the masque parade. Most of the people on my side could not see it or quite a bit of the action on our side of the stage. I guess you have to skip the side seats if you want to see a whole performance in the orchestra.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-9310795748554040102014-11-03T10:03:18.105-05:002014-11-03T10:03:18.105-05:00couldn't agree more. Too slow, not enough of ...couldn't agree more. Too slow, not enough of the wonderful dance portions of her works-have seen most of them. This is my least favorite.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-60294583567068587572014-11-03T09:57:46.383-05:002014-11-03T09:57:46.383-05:00Didn't like it. Too boring and repetitive.Didn't like it. Too boring and repetitive. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-64422806589993064882014-11-02T22:16:53.787-05:002014-11-02T22:16:53.787-05:00I'm a big fan of PB's work. Seen several o...I'm a big fan of PB's work. Seen several of her shows, in London as well as the BAM ever since I moved to NYC. Also seen the movie with Q&A w/ Wim Wenders at BAM. Pina Bausch full on!<br />It is interesting to see one of her early work (done in '78 after group was founded in '73 or so). Very clear what conventions they tried to break with back then, still fresh today. The show was funny, passionate, intense, intriguing and so much more.<br />'Aua!' and 'Daaaaaaarling!' will stay with you for a while and you will probably never hear it the 'un-Pina Bausch-ed' ever again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-2755985381241507782014-11-02T17:21:53.655-05:002014-11-02T17:21:53.655-05:00Kontakthof is absolutely outstanding: one of the m...Kontakthof is absolutely outstanding: one of the most engaging performances I have seen in the past decade. Despite it deals with heteronormative relationships, Bausch's mediation on the at times playful and pathological nature of human interaction and romance is provocative and beautifully choreographed. By mining everyday motions and re-presenting them as dance, Bausch renders uncanny actions that normally are naturalized--prompting an interrogation of our own daily performances (of gender) in the world. The various devices she employs to prompt reflection on spectatorship and even to break down the fourth wall were effective too. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-13359389481433104082014-11-02T15:05:55.914-05:002014-11-02T15:05:55.914-05:00"Like!""Like!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-19210368883004897182014-11-02T15:03:47.352-05:002014-11-02T15:03:47.352-05:00I am totally with you! I am a big Pina Bausch fan ...I am totally with you! I am a big Pina Bausch fan and seeing this work live for the first time was a true joy. I was sad when it ended. I wanted it to go on and on and on. Even for days afterward, my husband and I imitate the gestures and laugh.<br /><br />FYI - No paid promoter here. I am a frequent audience member of dance and contemporary art. If I could afford it, I would go see this piece every night during this run, and anytime I could. I loved it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-1115712331901645672014-11-02T12:50:23.850-05:002014-11-02T12:50:23.850-05:00I agree as well. I love Pina Bausch, have liked a...I agree as well. I love Pina Bausch, have liked all that I've seen of her work, but this one I could have done without. There were several humorous moments, what you come to expect of Pina, but it was way too long, repetitive and frankly boring.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-50894106201386844642014-11-02T10:43:22.945-05:002014-11-02T10:43:22.945-05:00Loved it, I can see how people don't like it, ...Loved it, I can see how people don't like it, but I can't see how they think it is bad. Well whatever, I thought it was outstanding, both performance and choreography. <br />One thing though, and this is for the people at BAM: What the heck where you thinking testing the hip hop music for the Halloween party in the mezzanine lobby while the piece was still running?! I completely understand if someone accidentally started the music, human error is a common phenomena, but why in the world did no official rush there and told them to shut it off ?! It was playing for a good 5 minutes, 5 minutes in which we were totally disconnected from the piece.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-6769098899056108912014-11-01T22:41:05.362-04:002014-11-01T22:41:05.362-04:00Hated it; my 5 guests and I left at intermission; ...Hated it; my 5 guests and I left at intermission; cutting losses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-45390045471136261082014-11-01T11:51:48.642-04:002014-11-01T11:51:48.642-04:00It was a dazzlingly great night.
No stage direct...It was a dazzlingly great night.<br /> No stage director needed.<br /> All the dancers had internalized their roles and their relations to each other over time.<br /> Bausch starts with the dancers blank.<br /> And suddenly, step by step, they go through a wondrous range of variations on the<br /> meaning of the feminine form and sexuality.<br /> It was dazzling.<br /> And even without Pina, they will get better. My best t<br />Dr. Frank Braio<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-45983988387678921442014-11-01T11:22:11.004-04:002014-11-01T11:22:11.004-04:00Saw it twice, from row A. Have seen other of her p...Saw it twice, from row A. Have seen other of her pieces at BAM, always twice, although could go 3, 4 times, that's how much I like them and never find them boring, regardless of the lenght. Will be going to Wuppertal next year to see one of her pieces in her theater.She is one of the originals, Balanchine,Graham, Taylor. And like Paul Taylor can, combine humor and sadness, even despair in a piece. a fanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12453595472468103185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-70926322329478403282014-11-01T10:41:44.837-04:002014-11-01T10:41:44.837-04:00An inspiring , poetic and profound creation. An inspiring , poetic and profound creation. Talihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15289398451550202134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-44166257553468395872014-11-01T00:35:35.177-04:002014-11-01T00:35:35.177-04:00My first contact with Pina Bausch's choreograp...My first contact with Pina Bausch's choreography was Danzón. At the time, I did not care for her style of dance. I found it too silly and not serious enough. It was too theatrical, I thought. I did not attend another performance of her dance company until “… como el musguito en la piedra, ay si, si, si …” Something shifted inside me and it was then that I fell in love with her work. The pure humanity — the universal feelings and emotions — finally spoke to me. The humor made it all the more poignant. Her dancers were accessible. Knowable. And that is exactly what I saw in Kontakthof tonight. Real humans having messy, sad, romantic, funny encounters with each other. I love that there are older dancers. Short dancers. Dancers who sing and talk. I love the repetitive gestures in the choreography, and am amazed at the precision of the dancers as they execute the moves. I love the costuming and set and lighting. If I had to choose one scene to cut or at least shorten, it would have been the length of the duck film. But that's a minor criticism, and even that made me chuckle. I do regret all the Pina Bausch performances I chose not to attend in years past. Maybe some day I will be able to see Tanztheater Wuppertal reprise them. I commend BAM for continuing to present her work, and I am glad I gave her work another chance.Curly Vnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-89276532567475530712014-10-29T16:53:00.116-04:002014-10-29T16:53:00.116-04:00Another bit of context that is useful to know when...Another bit of context that is useful to know when approaching Pina is that like Kontakthof, the majority of her works are 3 hours long. So if you go expecting brevity, you are setting yourself up to be disappointed.<br /><br />I brought Einstein into the discussion not to say which is better or worse, but in response to the complaints above about length and repetition. The use of long duration and repetitive structures have been key elements of major works of the late 20th century, and Pina and Robert Wilson are two of the most important examples of artists who have used these to powerful effect. <br /><br />Also, BAM was a pioneer in providing a home for major artists making long and repetitive works for the big stage. Robert Wilson made his debut at BAM in 1973 with a performance that lasted all night (it was supposed to be 12 hours, but ended up being more like 14).Kitnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-19721383191319379072014-10-29T11:57:11.141-04:002014-10-29T11:57:11.141-04:00This is the fourth time I've seen Kontakthof (...This is the fourth time I've seen Kontakthof (including once on film) and it is as beautiful, disturbing, moving as ever. A brilliant work by one of the truly-original choreographers of our time. Thank you BAM, from a devoted dance-goer. MforMariannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-12465547445668323992014-10-29T08:24:02.463-04:002014-10-29T08:24:02.463-04:00Also left at intermission which was disappointing ...Also left at intermission which was disappointing at $95 per ticket. Wanted more dancing. Scenes way too long.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-56737078747343660702014-10-29T00:13:09.997-04:002014-10-29T00:13:09.997-04:00I thought it was beautiful. The piece and the per...I thought it was beautiful. The piece and the performances were everything I was hoping they would be and more.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11156965586652806215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1658202452707400073.post-49463067918871819902014-10-29T00:09:41.362-04:002014-10-29T00:09:41.362-04:00It was good, as it always is, but the first part w...It was good, as it always is, but the first part was too long.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com