11-13 March 2011
Grand Theatre, HK Cultural Centre

In memory of Pina Bausch (1940–2009)

"A theater poet" The New York Times

"Beauty, humor, big-scale visual imagination, as well as darkness, sarcasm and intensity" The New York Times

"By the end of Nelken [Carnations], the audience is in love" The Observer

The art world lost one of its brightest stars when Pina Bausch passed away on 30 June 2009. In memory of the "leading light of modern dance" (The Guardian), the Festival invites Bausch's legendary company Tanztheater Wuppertal to perform Carnations, the revolutionary choreographer's seminal work from 1982.

Bausch's legacy reaches deep into all genres of art. The list of her admirers includes some of the biggest names in the arts: visual artist Anthony Gormley, actor Alan Rickman, theatre directors Robert Wilson and Peter Brook, dancer and choreographer Akram Khan among many others. Her vision was immortalised by two adoring fans and film legends: Federico Fellini and Pedro Almodóvar.

Created by Bausch for the Tanztheater Wuppertal at the height of her power, Carnations is set in a field of 8,000 pink carnations. An unpredictable series of montages are juxtaposed through her signature use of free association: a girl silently wanders through the flowers wearing just an accordion; grown men joyfully bunny-hop around the field under the watchful eyes of security guards and patrol dogs...

Carnations reveals itself as a collection of sinister childhood games, a kaleidoscope of hopes and fears steeped in a Bauschian value of humour, empathy and self-revelation – a fitting tribute to its creator, modern dance's first lady Pina Bausch.

Pina Bausch
"The uncrowned Empress of modern dance" Newsweek

"She has re-invented dance. She is one of the greatest innovatos of the past 50 years…Dance-theatre didn't really exist before she invented it." William Forsythe

After founding the company in 1973 Pina Bausch went on to enjoy world-wide acclaim for her ability to fuse theatre and dance with stunning innovation. Her dancers made to navigate the stage surrounded by soil (Rite of Spring) and flowers (Nelken) or forced to crash into furniture (Café Müller). The theatre is now under the stewardship of two artistic directors who keep the spirit of Pina Bausch's vision alive: Dominique Mercy and Robert Sturm.

The Guardian critic Judith Mackrell gave the show a five-star review, praising Bausch's ability to "combine movement of shocking visceral intensity with stage visions of often hallucinogenic strangeness".

Atsushi Iijima (Pina Bausch), Ulli Weiss

Choreographer: Pina Bausch
Artistic Directors: Dominique Mercy, Robert Sturm
Set design: Peter Pabst
Costume Design: Marion Cito