In 2019 the Bauhaus celebrates its 100th anniversary and is the occasion for the three-part dance evening BAUHAUS | BOLERO at the Stadttheater Osnabrück. It opens with the reconstruction of Mary Wigman's group work DIE FEIER (1927/1928). In the mid-1920s, Wigman (1886-1973) not only dealt with the constructivist ideals of Bauhaus artist Wassily Kandinsky, but also with the theatrical experiments of the Bauhaus stage. Looking back, she wrote about DIE FEIER: "The absolute harmony of color, form, and line, of body and spatial rhythm, has hardly been as successful as in this work. As with Wigman's works "Le Sacre du Printemps" (1957 - 2013) and "Danse Macabre" (1921/26 -2017), Henrietta Horn and Susan Barnett are responsible for the recreation.

DIE FEIER (1927/28)

Choreography Mary Wigman

Stage/Costumes Mary Wigman, Elis Griebel

Reconstruction Henrietta Horn (responsible), Susan Barnett

Music Martin Räpple, Wladimir Krasmann after musical themes by Will Götze

Reconstruction of the costumes Margrit Flagner, Susan Barnett

Dance: Dance Company Osnabrück

Press

WIGMAN, CLUG, DE CANDIA "BAUHAUS I BOLERO"
Hartmut Regitz, Magazine tanz, March 2019

Mary Wigman calls the four sections into which the first movement of her dance symphony is divided "monotony". But there can be no talk of monotony at the "celebration". The group performance alone at the very beginning takes one's breath away. It could be a frieze of human bodies that gradually pushes itself onto the stage and, so to speak, gives the part called "temple" its frame. Choreographed over a wide area, it immediately makes you think of "L'Après -midi d'un faune" by Vaslav Nijinsky, of which Mary Wigman could at least have heard in 1927/28. And yet the "absolute harmony of colour, form and line, body and spatial rhythm", as she says retrospectively about "The Celebration" itself, is quite, quite different: always grounded and even in the "rotating monotony" related to the ground, but never playfully free and erotic, but always sublime and subject to a lawful formation. Together with Susan Barnett, Henrietta Horn made the difficult attempt to make Mary Wigman's "Celebration" visible again - based on photographs, descriptions and drawings that Walter Eberhard Loch made in the rehearsals. There is no notation as in the case of "Totentanz I"; even less material that could have justified a reasonably authentic "recreation" of the third part. The two have renounced them. Based on their experiences in rehearsing the "Spring Victim" and "Dance of Death I and II", they were able to empathize with Mary Wigman's way of moving in the first two movements in such a way that it did not appear to be a pure projection of their own fantasy. On the contrary, "The Temple" and "In the Sign of Darkness" always reveal the dancer's peculiarity and her pioneering style. Nothing seems antiquated here. Not the "turning monotony" in which Cristina Commisso flares up her skirt as if she were dancing on glowing coals. Especially not the second movement, when Neven Del Canto "under the sign of darkness" finally makes Marine Sanchez Edgasse disappear completely. This may be thought of by Wigman as an allegory. Nowadays one could also interpret the power play between solo and group politically. The Dance Company Theater Osnabrück, in any case, places itself entirely in the service of Mary Wigman and yet is always with itself.

Premiere at Theater Osnabrück New dance evening "Bauhaus/Bolero" fascinated

By Christine Adam, 09.02.2019 Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung

A sophisticated treat for dance and Bauhaus fans: On Saturday, the new three-part dance evening celebrated its premiere with a recreation of Mary Wigman's "Die Feier", Edward Clug's "Handman" and Mauro de Candias premiere of "Bolero" at the Theater Osnabrück. Third time Wigman. What a gain that the proven reconstruction team of Henrietta Horn and Susan Barnett dared for the third time to perform an undelivered choreography by Mary Wigman for the Theater Osnabrück. Although the Wigman specialists found so little material this time, after "Le Sacre du Printemps" and the two death dances, that they prefer to call Wigman's "The Celebration" of 1927/28 a recreation. The Osnabrück Dance Company walks solemnly through the stage like a living painting showing players with percussion instruments. Splendid robes with long, swinging skirts underline the ceremonial of this dancer chain. Arms and legs reach very slowly and like groping into the room and coagulate into ancient, ritualistic poses. Counter-rotating circles and groups of dancers reacting to two soloists like choirs form the space, both typical Wigman elements. The young dancers make the two parts of the "celebration" a feast for the eyes and reap intermediate applause with the fantastic turning monotony of Cristina Commisso, who, despite all the turning, succeeds in shaping the space above him with sophisticated arm gestures. Live percussion by the dancers, specially composed by Martin Räpple in collaboration with Henrietta Horn and recognizable tempo increases to the point of deadly horror give a glimpse of the content of the evening.