About this episode

Meryl Tankard discusses her mentor Pina Bausch and the impact of her innovative choreography.

TODAY on the GWA Podcast: choreographer Meryl Tankard on her mentor and friend, the legendary dancer and choreographer: PINA BAUSCH (1940-2009). Artist, choreographer, visionary, and trailblazer in bringing dance into the modern world, Pina Bausch – one of the most popular names when it comes to artists' influences – was hailed for her raw, haunting, experimental dances, and all-encompassing productions. Born in 1940 in Germany in the midst of WW2, from an early age Pina took ballet and dance lessons. In the 1950s, a scholarship at Juilliard took her to NYC, a time of great artistic reinvention, and then back to Germany, where she founded Tanztheater Wuppertal and created her groundbreaking choreographies. While the group, at first, faced hostility, the crowd – and the world – soon realized her innovations. On the magic of dancing with Pina Bausch, Meryl told me: "Every time we moved it had an emotion behind it ... that's what really shocked everyone at the beginning, because dance had always hidden the pain, hidden the insecurities; we had beautiful hair and costumes. And Pina went, 'let's forget all that. Let's talk about what you are really feeling'. She choreographed…

People in this episode

Host: Katy Hessel

Guest: Meryl Tankard

Topics covered

• choreography
• dance
• Pina Bausch
• Meryl Tankard
• artistic influence
• emotional expression

Keywords

• Meryl Tankard
• Pina Bausch
• dance
• choreography
• Tanztheater Wuppertal
• emotional expression
• artistic influence

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tanztheater Wuppertal

Places: Germany, NYC

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