New Piece I – Since She

The world of Dimitris Papaioannou meets the universe of Pina Bausch at Onassis Stegi. Nine years after Pina Bausch’s sudden departure, the artistic director of the Tanztheater Wuppertal, Adolphe Binder, invites an outsider in to choreograph the legendary company for the first time: Dimitris Papaioannou. It will be a first for him, too: the first time he’s choreographed for anyone except his own company.

Accepting the enormous challenge with New Piece I - Since she without losing sight for a moment either of his training as a painter or his Greek references, Dimitris Papaioannou transforms the stage into a mirror in which every nuance of human existence is revealed.

La Repubblica described the production as "a subtle miracle", Teatro e Critica as "a genius homage", De Volkskrant as "a touching and stylish ode to Bausch", La Libre.be as "a show like a sweet journey to the depths, to find cheerful and alive, Pina Bausch herself". Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po compares Dimitris Papaioannou to a magician, while Ballet2000 calls him "The New Greek Myth. An artist who has nothing of the imitator but is firmly master of his world". New Piece I - Since she is coming to Onassis Stegi, which co-produced the production, for just 4 performances on December 18-21, giving Athenian audiences the opportunity to verify for themselves the words of the Art Unlimited dance critic: "In 'Since she', Papaioannou talks about his admiration for Pina, his inspirations from her, his own feelings while preparing a piece for her company; he attempts to translate all these into emotions and he is extraordinarily successful".

Credits

Conceived, Visualized and Directed by Dimitris Papaioannou
Set Design: Tina Tzoka
Costumes: Thanos Papastergiou
Lighting Design: Fernando Jacon, Stephanos Droussiotis
Sound Design: Thanasis Deligiannis
Music Supervision: Thanasis Deligiannis, Stephanos Droussiotis
Artistic Consultants: Tina Papanikolaou, Stephanos Droussiotis
Rehearsal Director: Barbara Kaufmann
Sculpturer: Nectarios Dionysatos
Collaboration Costumes: Rike Zöllner
Artistic Photography: Julian Mommert
With: Ruth Amarante, Michael Carter, Silvia Farias Heredia, Ditta Miranda Jasjfi, Scott Jennings, Milan Kampfer, Blanca Noguerol Ramírez, Breanna O’Mara, Franko Schmidt, Azusa Seyama, Ekaterina Shushakova, Julie Anne Stanzak, Oleg Stepanov, Julian Stierle, Michael Strecker, Tsai-Wei Tien, Ophelia Young
Music: Christos Constantinou, Richard Wagner, Charles Ives, Johann Sebastian Bach, Aram Khachaturian, Gustav Mahler, Gija Kantscheli, Marika Papagkika, Wayne King, Leo Rapitis, Manos Achalinotopoulos, Sergei Prokofiev, Giuseppe Verdi, Tom Waits

Co-produced by: Théâtre de la Ville - Paris / La Villette, Paris; Sadler’s Wells, London; Holland Festival, Amsterdam; Onassis Stegi
Supported by Kunststiftung NRW

World premiere: 12 May 2018

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The Onassis Stegi is a co-producer in this important venture. This is the third occasion on which Dimitris Papaioannou has collaborated with the OCC, and follows on from the great success of both “Still Life” (2014) and “The Greater Tamer” (2017).

The chairs on which the dancers balance, and which ultimately become a Sisyphean burden, are a reference to “Café Müller” (1978), Pina Bausch’s iconic choreography in which she danced the most beautiful and expressive solo ever created. The chairs allude to her childhood in her parents' restaurant in Solingen — it was looking through their legs, looking out from under the tables she loved to hide under, that the incomprehensible adult world of Cold War Germany was revealed to her.

The history of the Tanztheater Wuppertal begins in 1973, when, having been appointed Artistic Director of the Wuppertal Opera Ballet, Pina Bausch immediately renamed it. With hard work, determinedly fighting to impose her vision, Pina Bausch and her company conquered the world dance stage. The Tanztheater Wuppertal became famous and toured cities the length and breadth of the globe, winning prestigious awards and distinctions along the way.

The concept of a spectacle that was simultaneously both theater and dance proved hard to accept at first, but would end up altering the course of dance forever and earning Pina Bausch a place in history as the most important choreographer of the 20th century. She died in 2009, leaving behind an ensemble performing at an extremely high level.

Precisely why Pina Bausch’s works are so appealing remains a mystery. Could it be the peculiar combination of poetic and everyday scenes performed by dancers using techniques from both ballet and theater? Or perhaps the profound references to archetypal conceptions of male and female? No one knows the answer. What we do know, however, is that Pina Bausch always managed to find a way into her audience’s heart.
Pina Bausch maintained a close and deeply human relationship with her dancers — might this be one of the key elements in the company’s uniqueness? Wim Wenders’ film “Pina” is another tribute to the unforgettable Pina Bausch, both from himself and the dancers of the Tanztheater Wuppertal.

The Tanztheater Wuppertal is currently home to 38 dancers.