Okay, let’s talk about something that’s giving me full-body chills. Pina Bausch’s work is being revived, but not in the way you’d expect. Forget understudies or a new generation taking the reins. The original cast is returning to the stage… to dance *with* their younger selves.
Let that sink in for a second.
The piece, *…como el musguito en la piedra, ay si, si, si…*, is being reconstructed using archival footage. The original dancers, now decades older, will perform live alongside projections of their past selves from the 1970s. This isn't just a revival; it's a conversation across time.
**Why This is More Than Just a "Cool" Concept**
This is the kind of artistic vision that reminds us why live performance is so powerful. It’s not just about the steps or the choreography. It’s about the body as a living archive.
* **The Body as a Timeline:** A dancer’s body tells a story. It holds the muscle memory of every performance, the wear and tear of a lifetime of movement. To see that same body share the stage with its younger, more agile self is a raw and honest portrayal of what it means to be a performer. It’s a meditation on age, artistry, and the physical cost of passion.
* **Ghosts in the Machine:** There’s something deeply haunting and beautiful about this. The younger selves are like ghosts—perfect, preserved, and untouchable. The live dancers are the reality: lived-in, evolved, and profoundly human. The tension between the two is the entire point.
* **Pina’s Legacy Lives (and Breathes):** Pina Bausch’s work was always about the human condition—our desires, our vulnerabilities, our absurdities. This production takes that exploration to a meta-level. It’s a piece about memory, about what we leave behind, and how our past constantly informs our present.
**My Take: This is the Future of Repertory**
This isn't just a one-off gimmick. This feels like a blueprint for how we can honor and re-experience iconic works from the 20th century. As the pioneers of modern and postmodern dance leave us, how do we keep their work alive without losing its soul? Simply teaching the steps to a new company can sometimes feel like a museum piece.
This method—integrating the original artists and their documented histories—breathes new, profound meaning into the work. It adds layers that a straightforward restaging never could.
So, is it "trippy"? Absolutely. It’s a mind-bending, emotionally charged experiment that blurs the lines between past and present, memory and reality. It’s a testament to the enduring power of Pina’s vision and the incredible artists who brought it to life.
This is more than a performance; it's a living, breathing séance for dance.
What do you think? Would you see it?
