Wundertal

conceived by Boris Charmatz

In May 2023 we are celebrating Wundertal. Wundertal is a constellation of encounters in the city of Wuppertal, with and for its inhabitants, which is borne of the desire to open up new pathways and explore the idea of a choreographic assembly. Wundertal begins with Wundertal/Sonnborner Straße, a happening for 200 dancers – both amateurs and professionals – which unfolds over three hours on this important street in the city. and ends with Palermo Palermo by Pina Bausch at the Opera House and with projects shown at the Schauspielhaus, the future Pina Bausch Center.

Tickets are available now online here, via Reservation hotline +49 (0) 202 563 7666 or in person at Kulturkarte Wuppertal, Kirchplatz 1.

to the calendar

The project Wundertal by Boris Charmatz in May 2023 is a contribution to the preparatory phase of the Pina Bausch Centre and is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the City of Wuppertal, as well as by Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal. 

Wundertal is a project of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, [terrain] and the Pina Bausch Zentrum.

Boris Charmatz and Marietta Piekenbrock on the occasion of the restaging of Café Müller

Three Times Six

 

Two glass doors revolve in a circular enclosure. A woman is flushed on to the dark stage by the revolving door and darts between the empty chairs, then disappears stage right. This is the beginning of Café Müller, a piece by Pina Bausch. If it were up to Boris Charmatz, who became the director of the Tanztheater Wuppertal last August, this piece would never end. Repertoire begins with the syllable ‘re-’. It stands for repetition and return, and in this case also for Henry Purcell’s aria “Remember Me”. And for ‘revolving door’ – a door that circles around in endless movement and yet always remains open.

 

Who will take the role that Pina Bausch used to dance? Who will dance Dominique Mercy’s role? These feel like urgent questions, but the answers inevitably lead to sadness. Pina Bausch is no longer alive; Dominique Mercy is irreplaceable in his uniqueness. In order to avoid the impulse to compare, Boris Charmatz and his team Barbara Kaufmann, Héléna Pikon, Robert Sturm and Magali Caillet-Gajan have prepared three new casts for the restaging of the piece. None of the dancers have performed the piece before. This is a first in the history of the piece and in the history of the company.

2023 photo calendar

The Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch’s 2023 photo calendar is now out! It features photographs by the Berlin-based photographer Oliver Look and, for the first time, a fold-out calendar section.


Format 50 x 39 cm, silk-matt finish, 25 euros, available from the Tanztheater Wuppertal’s merchandise stall at the Wuppertal Opera House. On performance nights it opens one hour before the performance. The calendar is also available at Kulturkarte in Wuppertal: Kirchplatz 1, 42103 Wuppertal
 
13 full-colour photographs by Oliver Look of pieces by Pina Bausch:

•    He Takes Her By The Hand And Leads Her Into The Castle, The Others Follow
•    Arias
•    Palermo Palermo
•    „…como el musguito en la piedra, ay si, si, si…“
•    Bluebeard. While Listening to a Tape Recording of Béla Bartók´s opera “Duke Bluebeard´s Castle”
•    Kontakthof
•    Orpheus und Eurydike
•    Carnations
•    ‘Sweet Mambo’
•    The Piece with the Ship
•    Palermo Palermo

LET'S TALK ABOUT DANCE. Tanztheater Calling

The official podcast of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch.

Season 1

Why do we dance?

In this first season, Marc Wagenbach spoke with dancers, staff, and guest artists of the Tanztheater about Pina Bausch, dance as an art and form of expression, backstage secrets, the role of art in social and political debates, personal stories, the past, the present, and the future.

Süß und Sauer mit Bettina Wagner-Bergelt

Sweet and Sour - with Bettina Wagner-Bergelt

Gestrandet an der Wupper - mit Barbara Kaufmann

Stranded on the Shores of the Wupper - with Julie Anne Stanzak

Stranded on the Shores of the Wupper Part II - with Saar Magal

Warten auf den Weihnachtsmann - Weihnachtsspecial mit Roger Christmann

Waiting for Santa - Christmas Special with Oleg Stepanov

Me, Myself and I - with Julie Shanahan

Approaching Anna - with Stephanie Troyak

Being on a journay - with Dean Biosca

In the moment - with Christopher Tandy

How to shine? From gardening, dancing and healing bodies - with Bernd Uwe Marszan

Wand an Wand - mit Çağdaş Ermis

 

 

to the episodes on Spotify

to the episodes on Apple Podcasts

Come dance with me for children aged 6 to 10

»The questions never stop, and the search never ceases. There’s something infinite in it, and that’s what’s so wonderful about it.«

Pina Bausch