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THE ISTANBUL MAGIC BY PINA BAUSCH
It was first in 1998 that International Istanbul Theatre
Festival welcomed Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch,
which is when DER FENSTERPUTZER (The Window Washer),
with its choreography for Hong Kong, conquered the
Istanbul audience. Pina Bausch revisited Istanbul in 2000,
this time bringing along the Mediterranean warmth of the South
European coast as beautifully embedded in Masurca Fogo,
which she designed with Lisbon in mind Thus, in 2002,
it was not difficult for the Istanbul audience to remember
Masurca Fogo while watching Talk to Her by Pedro
Almodovar.
After these two brief visits to Istanbul, Pina Bauschs longing
for Istanbul must have reached to a level that, she decided
to actualize the dream project of Istanbul Foundation for
Culture and Arts by beginning to work on her choreography
for this mysterious city. She brought along a team of 30 members
to stay and work in Istanbul for a period of three weeks.
She strolled down the streets, through marketplaces, through
real people, related to them, spoke with them and listened
to them She took walks by the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn,
in the districts as diversified as Kasmpaa, Moda, Fatih
as well as the Princess Islands In the meantime, an intensive
and engaging process of rehearsals was on its course. The
work continued in Wuppertal until March the 21st
when The Istanbul Project had its world premiere there, which
is typical of Bausch since she has always chosen Wuppertal
for her premieres.
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The Istanbul Project or Ein Stck von Pina Bausch
(as the choreographer chooses to call each of her works until
she specifies a title she is fully pleased with) greeted its
first audience in The Wuppertal Opera. In its two acts, lasted
three hours through an upsurge of emotions. The nine-minute
outpouring of applause also indicated how truthful the intention
was to connect with Istanbul as well as the process it successfully
unfolded itself into the action over the stage. The Istanbul
Project is not in the least a boast of history, neither
a tourist attraction, nor folklore. It is a production at
a level of intensity that cannot afford clichs. It intertwines
a texture whose warp-and-woof consists of emotions, thoughts
and images. The Crownless Queen of the Modern Dance
is at the best of her expressionist style in terms of getting
her meanings across to the audience. In order to communicate
how both fragile and unrelenting, how mystical, and how erotic
Istanbul could all be at once, as an aqua-city in her imagination,
the choreographer seems to have chosen remarkable solos as
her form of expression in dance The mystical energy pervades
through the performance. Then, one feels called to remember,
in Bauschs own words, that There are some catchers that
capture and absorb you. Its such a chance to rest on the
surface of this beautiful sea, but not to the point of drifting
through It is important to know which direction you will
aim your course at. We are like Lilliputians in this giant
city. Bausch does not certainly fall short in making
us smile by means of her brilliant capture of what we could
call as the typical us
Peter Pabst has been collaborating with Pina Bausch
for years now. In much the same way, Istvan Szabo, Burg
Theater, The Paris Opera, Covent Garden, Royal National Theatre
are amongst the famous actors and institutions that he worked
with in the past. Pabst lays down a simplistic mental scheme
for Istanbul. The water boiling down under, the rain and the
translucent veils tell so much about what Istanbul is to Pina
Bausch In their beautiful costumes fashioned by Marion
Cito, the costume designer (at the end of his solicitous
research day in, day out for the choicest silk and velvet
in Istanbul), the ladies move over the stage as if with diaphanous
wings while the men do not move as much in a flurry as could
be expected if risking at times a macho appearance in their
serious-looking suits! Arranged by Matthias Burkert
and Andreas Eisenschneider, the music too reveals imagination
and reverie in a rich kaleidoscope ranging from Mercan
Dede to Tom Waits.
The Istanbul Project, a co-production of Istanbul
Foundation for Culture and Arts and Tanztheater Wuppertal
Pina Bausch is a special project by International Istanbul
Theatre Festival. It is opening in Atatrk Cultural
Centre on 29 May.
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