Performance / Theatre
Café Müller
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch + Terrain Boris Charmatz
Café Müller (Club Amour) © Oliver Look
In “Café Müller” (1978), a masterpiece by Pina Bausch, the symbolic set element of the revolving door symbolises repetition and recurrence.
“The word ‘repertoire’ begins with the syllable ‘re-’. Repertoire signifies repetition, recursion and return. Cultural memory needs both archives that preserve history in its material form and steady revivals. There can be no living memories without external impulses.”
Marietta Piekenbrock, January 2023
Boris Charmatz, newly appointed artistic director of Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, has created “Club Amour”, a composition consisting of three works – “Café Müller” by Pina Bausch and two of his own choreographies. All three touch on topics like desire, sexuality, nudity, intimacy and longing: In “Aatt enen tionon” from 1996, three dancers, isolated and half-naked on a three-storey scaffolding tower, interpret a precise and raw choreographic score. “herses, duo” is an excerpt from the piece “herses (une lente introduction)” from 1997 which finds direct expression for “utopian ideas of connection”. In “Café Müller” (1978), a masterpiece by Pina Bausch, Henry Purcell’s “Remember me” can be heard. Here, the symbolic set element of the revolving door symbolises repetition and recurrence. In “herses, duo”, Boris Charmatz himself is on stage as a dancer, just like Pina Bausch in the world premiere of "Café Müller".
Pina Bausch came to Wuppertal as director of the city’s municipal ballet company in 1973 and renamed it Tanztheater. Her idea to merge dance and theatre revolutionised the art form and turned her into an icon of a new form of expressionism. She received numerous international awards, her company’s repertoire became world-famous and their works still tour around the world today.
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch has shaped the history of dance and in 2023, the company celebrates its 50th anniversary. Since 2022/23, French dancer and choreographer Boris Charmatz (*1973) has taken on this great challenge. As the company’s leader, he is beginning the next chapter of its history. Pina Bausch and Tanztheater Wuppertal as well as Boris Charmatz have repeatedly been presented by Berliner Festspiele.
“In the early filmed versions of Café Müller, it is striking to see desire at work. Bodies seek one another, grope for one another; fingers call out for touch. The life of the theatre intersects with the life of the artists. The roles seem to be carved out of thick human relationships. This made me want to present the play on an evening where love, loves, desire, desires would be the core. I then thought of two plays in ‘my’ repertoire that also touched on these issues. This is a test: to give the dancers from Tanztheater Wuppertal, who have not yet danced these pieces, the opportunity to confront the rough subtlety of ‘Café Müller’, the unrestrained radicality of ‘Aatt enen tionon’, as well as to perform a duet from ‘herses (une lente introduction)’ with bodies tangled with one another in absolute contact. The evening promises to be restless: Purcell meets PJ Harvey, ‘Café Müller’s ageless costumes come together with ‘Aattt enen tionon’s nudity, and all three pieces set Tanztheater Wuppertal 2024 ablaze!”
Boris Charmatz, March 2023
Artistic Team
Pina Bausch – Staging and Choreography
Rolf Borzik – Set and Costume Design
Marion Cito, Hans Pop – Collaboration
Henry Purcell – Music
Barbara Kaufmann – Rehearsal Director Reviva
With Naomi Brito, Milan Kampfer, Reginald Lefebvre, Nicholas Losada, Tsai-Wei Tien, Tsai-Chin Yu
World premiere 20.5.1978, Opernhaus Wuppertal
With Malou Airaudo, Pina Bausch, Rolf Borzik, Dominique Mercy, Jan Minařík, Meryl Tankard
With the ensemble of Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch + Terrain Boris Charmatz – Production and distribution Club Amour (Premiere 23.11.2023, Opernhaus Wuppertal)