Disrobing to get the message across

Return to Wuppertal Dance Theatre TWENTY years is a long time in the theatre. Expectations change, viewing habits get set and lose their edge. What shocked us yesterday, we get a kick out of today.

There is no longer any question of protests being heard at Wuppertal Dance Theatre performances.

Founder-choreographer Pina Bausch is the password to that place between theatre and dance, and her work has inspired artists and audiences from West to East.

In her version of Sacre du Printemps, mounds of earth covered the City Hall Theatre stage when the then little-known Wuppertal company first performed here 13 years ago. Now we have wall to wall turf and a work rooted in theatre and away from conventional dance. Over its dual decade, this is probably the most significant change about the Wuppertal Dance Theatre of which we can take note.

The majority of the 24 performers still look like dancers, although they are dressed in evening gowns and suits, which they remove matter-of-factly from time to time during the four hour programme.

Within the context of this group confessional, where the lives of the dancers provide a multitude of intimate vignettes, disrobing relates to a return to childhood, an abdication of power that is both moving and humorous.