What is a transmission?
The Pina Bausch Foundation is the rights holder of Pina Bausch's pieces. Therefore, the Foundation grants licenses (permission) of the choreographies to companies, such as the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch. That is, after a legal agreement, a company can rehearse and perform the piece.
Until recently, almost only Tanztheater Wuppertal danced Pina Bausch's pieces. The staff and dancers know a lot about the choreographies. Since 2016, the Pina Bausch Foundation has also been granting licenses to international companies. For example, to the Bavarian State Ballet, the English National Ballet, the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen or the Semperoper Ballett. The company studies the choreography with the help of current and former dancers of the Tanztheater. Consultants support the areas of stage design, costume, music and technology. This process is called transmission.
Through the transmissions, more and more people worldwide get the chance to see Pina Bausch’s pieces. Many dancers get the opportunity to dance her choreography.
The Pina Bausch Foundation has already accompanied many transmissions. In the process, many questions came up. Especially about the pieces themselves. And about how dancers pass on their roles not only to new generations of dancers, but also to dancers with different dance educations. For example:
- How much influence do dancers have on the piece?
- What are the most important elements about a role?
- Can young dancers bring their own experiences into the roles they take on?
- How do pieces change when danced by other companies?
- In how far do pieces change?
The Foundation wants to find answers to these questions. This is important for the future of Pina Bausch’s work. So that the pieces can be shown on stage again and again. For this, they have to be passed on to younger generations repeatedly.
