It was Pina Bausch's dream to present two of her most famous shows at the Cairo Opera House. Rania Khallaf witnessed the dream coming true, but without the dancing queen herself It was just like a dream for me and for almost all the audience to have this unique chance to enjoy watching Pina Bausch's two performances last week at the Cairo Opera House. According to the Opera House director, Abdel-Moneim Kamel, when they started negotiating with Bausch three years ago about a performance there, they considered the idea was a dream. And yes, negotiations went on for three years before the Opera House succeeded in winning a place in Bausch's busy schedule. Not only is this the first visit by the Wuppertal company to Egypt; it is actually the company's first visit to the Arab world, and Africa. In the event, however, Bausch sadly died before she could come to Egypt herself, and the show was forced to go ahead without her. The work of the German choreographer Pina Bausch, who died unexpectedly on 30 June, five days after being diagnosed of lung cancer (she was a smoker), had a controversial impact on critics and audiences alike. Philippine Bausch was born in 1940 in Sollingen, Germany, and began her dance studies at the Folkwang School in Essen. As a special student, she won a scholarship to study at the Juilliard School of music in New York. She was back in Germany in 1962, and in 1973 she became the director and choreographer of the Tanztheatre Wuppertal. The Western media regards the dance theatre of Pina Bausch as a world theatre that for more than 36 years has soaked up impressions from all cultures. "It presents itself as tolerant, cosmopolitan, imprinted by a deep respect for every single human being," comments Norbert Servos, a prominent German journalist. Bausch's curiosity about any and everything strange and different was peerless. With this impartial ideology, Pina Bausch created a revolutionary dance understandable the world over. Routine steps were not to satisfy Bausch, who wanted always to expose the deepest motives for all movement. In her own words: "I do not care how people move, I care about what makes them move." The Pina Bausch performances at the Opera House mark the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Goethe Institute in Egypt. "The poet Goethe was 50 years old when he discovered the glory of the East, and he was fascinated by its culture. The Goethe Institute was founded in Egypt in 1958, just seven years after its establishment in Germany," Bernd Erbel, the German ambassador to Egypt, told a press conference held the day before the show. At the same time, he pointed out that the Goethe branch in Cairo was one of the most active ones of the 130 branches worldwide. "We are happy that we could make it to Cairo, despite Bausch's death," Peter Pabst, a senior member of the company, told the press. "However, we are worried because we are performing before an entirely new audience. We miss her a lot, and I believe you are going to miss her too," he added. The show started at 8pm by presenting two of Bausch's distinguished dances: Bamboo Blues and Rites of Spring. Bamboo Blues was inspired by a two-week visit to India and a thorough study of Indian culture and life. Watching the dance, you cannot help but relax and enjoy these unbelievably charming dancers. Exerting an effort to interpret her many unique, vague symbols will surely be wasted. Loaded with symbols, the show is, however, inspired by the unique way of Indian dances, gestures and movements of arms and bodies. And many scenes are laden with the traditional Indian features of life; however, the show is far from being a performance about India. Bamboo Blues is about human quest for happiness, hope, joy and self-awareness; it also tackles the issue of violence in a male-female relationship. Some scenes tackle this issue in an ironic vein, in most cases giving the upper hand to women. In most cases, too, one cannot just focus on a single act on the stage. Actually, there are three or more acts taking place simultaneously, and it is up to the viewer to choose his or her viewpoint. As a feminist, I felt that Bausch had the same conviction. Woman is the heroine here. She is not the loser. She is provocative and sometimes portrayed as playful, crazy even; we watch a woman wrestle with herself, or a man boxing an invisible woman. Bausch's use of both metaphor and humour is incomparable. In one extraordinary scene, a woman sits on a chair holding a red bucket full of water, in which she immerses her head. A man from the other side of the stage, obviously worried, hurries to take the bucket from her, and runs away with it. Then she runs to get another bucket from behind the side curtains. And the scene is repeated again and again. This scene takes place simultaneously with other scenes, which makes the viewer breathless; especially when the dancers descend the stairs to exit from the side doors located just beside the audience. The music is a mix of jazz, light and world music, which together with the different nationalities of the dancers gives incomparable sense of freedom. Sensuality cannot be ignored. Kisses and hugs are frequent, but not in a romantic way. On the contrary, sensuality and sarcasm control the scenes: a woman rolls her body on her male partner's half naked body as if he is a bamboo couch himself. "First produced in 2007, the Bamboo Blues performance represents another stage in Bausch's method where she started to ask us questions," prominent dancer Fernando Suels told Al-Ahram Weekly after the show. "There are between 800 and 1,000 questions in every piece. She used to ask us about our vision of different themes, including our dreams or personal experiences," he explained. Suels, 41, has been working for the company since 1995. "I came from Venezuela to study modern dance in Essen in Germany, and I have never worked for another company. The thing that distinguishes the Wuppertal Company from other European modern dance companies is that it entails the dancers to express their individual identities on stage. We are always invited to suggest ideas." The dancers come from varied backgrounds; some come from classic ballet companies and others from modern dance troupes. Most of them are from different European countries, and some others from Asia. "Our two-week visit to India was exciting; we watched how people on the street walked, ate and danced. I really loved the vivid dances and singing, which are full of life. And it was not just the people; when we went to the flower market in Calcutta it was equally fascinating seeing all those bright colours. Although India was far too different from my European culture, the visit gave us a great energy and had a great influence on us," he recounts. The two-act show, normally lasting 140 minutes, was downsized to 90 minutes to save time for the next show, The Rites of Spring. This 30-minute show was performed on a layer of soil that covered all the stage area. It looks gloomy, especially with the pale beige costumes of the dancers. The Rites of a Spring is Pina Bausch's version of Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps. The show is one of Bausch's distinguished traditional performances, and was first directed in 1975. It is all about conflict or hidden violence between men and women. During the show, about 35 dancers perform violent movements. They lie on the stage, heads down; they roll, and jump, and run in anger from this side of the stage to the other, literally panting. In the middle of this conflict of feelings, a male dancer lies on the ground; face down, arms wide open, in a pose that recalls the cross. Well, does this symbolise Jesus? Does the conflict we are witnessing resemble our daily life, in which women are constantly faced with violence and hostility on the part of men? I'll bet you can never find an easy answer to Bausch's vague symbols. With her sudden departure, the company is in disarray. "We are not yet certain about our future shows," Suels says. "But we will continue together presenting the previous shows from our repertory. We miss her so much as she left a big, big, big hole."
