Last night was the premiere of the play Palermo Palermo of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch company at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier. After several postponements, the Montreal public was at the rendezvous since the troupe had not walked the Quebec stages since 2014. A great classic from the repertoire of the mythical and late choreographer Pina Bausch, Palermo Palermo transports us to a world that is as wacky as it is endearing.
It was in 1989, shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall, that Pina Bausch, then in full residency in Palermo, imagined a work with a huge collapsing brick wall. Visionary for the time, it is nonetheless that this work still resonates today.
Series of skits, Palermo Palermo don’t overdo it. Neither too much play nor too much dancing. It’s all in the right measure and that’s why it works. The choreographed moments are not overwhelming, they bring freshness and tenderness in a chaos that is both comical and dizzying. It is very easy to find the artistic touch of the choreographer who died in 2009. The movements are fluid, resulting from daily gestures and the repetition is delicious. As the sequences follow one another, they subtly deform, transform and fascinate. Arm movement, long hair caressing the space, the performers embody the Bausch signature within them. Fluidity is key, but so is detail. The importance of precision is palpable while constantly letting go which is good to see.
Time is running. The performers do not stop crossing the space, always skipping, running, through the broken bricks on the ground. They cross paths, interact, live their lives and build, unexpectedly, strong images. When you get out of there, you have discovered a human fresco. A contagious madness that constantly surprises. To support it all, the performers display a fair theatrical game, again in line with and specific to the German choreographer. We talk there, we describe poems, we sing there. In perfect rhythm, life unfolds before our eyes. A life without filters, a life without genes that leaves something to smile about. Wacky ideas have heard their comic potential, but not only. They question an imbalance, the end of a wall, the end of a life and, finally, what happens afterwards? Are we still in the same reality or is it a daydream? Come to think of it, the scenes aren’t that crazy. They are synonymous with freedom to live and are perhaps ultimately what our humanity lacks.
In the city, as on the stage
One of the strengths of Palermo Palermo is its complete adherence of decor and music to the choreographic and theatrical score. Indeed, the dust, the sand, the earth, the noise of the crowd or even the steeples of Palermo interfere in the right places, at the right times. Same thing for accessories. From the simple apple to the pistol through the heels or the sugar, the smallest detail is assumed, and important. In addition to attracting our eye, the work ultimately appeals to all our senses. And again, I’m not telling you everything… I’ll let you see for yourself!
The performers obviously carry all this shaken humanity. You feel like you’re in town with them, and not at a show. We can feel the states in which they put themselves and the authenticity they deliver in their gestures, their faces and their bodies. All in poetry, the artists stand out and reveal their individuality. Even in the few unison moments, their character shines through in their being.
This piece is high in color and flavor. From voluptuousness to oddity, passing through communion and the absurd, Palermo Palermo transports its audience with it to once again break down “the invisible walls that exist everywhere in the world, in our heads”, as Pina Bausch had imagined. For 1h30, the scene is transformed by the different stories, the various ideas and strange creations put in place by the actors. For 1h30, we don’t forget everything, the ridiculous no longer exists. Only curiosity and surprise are in order. All wrapped up in movements of great gentleness and great mastery. Wild, high-calibre dance theater, just the way we like it.