common ground[s]/ The Rite of Spring, Germaine Acogny / Pina Bausch

École des Sables perform The Rite of Spring by Pina Bausch © Maarten Vanden Abeele

Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring has inspired decades upon decades of choreographers to pick up the gauntlet and take on the challenge of choreographing to his dramatic score. Originally composed in 1913 for a piece Vaslav Nijinsky choreographed on the Ballet Russes, it has gone on to be reinterpreted by some of the world’s greatest choreographers including Kenneth MacMillan, Martha Graham and Pina Bausch.

After touring nearly 20 countries over the past three years, the latest production of Bausch’s interpretation has landed in London. The commission by Sadler’s Wells and the Pina Bausch Foundation marks the first time the piece has been performed entirely by African dancers. They perform under the École des Sables, the Senegalese contemporary African dance education centre founded by Germaine Acogny, and it was with Acogny whom our night commenced.

Alongside co-choreographer, and former pupil of Pina Bausch, Malou Airaudo, Acogny performed a new work called ‘common ground[s]’. This tender dance-theatre piece flitted between subtle movement, acting and speech in a meditation on friendship as a support network. Over half an hour the pair gently padded around the rock-covered stage, taking breaks to place their head on the other’s stomach, rub the rocks on each other, wash the floor, have a multilingual chat in French and English or sing ‘Que Sera Sera’, accompanied by intensely plucked violins or the chirping of grasshoppers. There was something charming and hypnotising about the piece, demonstrating how dance doesn’t always need to contain party-trick flexibility and dramatic leaps to make an impact. As an experiment in combining Acogny’s contemporary African dance background and Airaudo’s history working with Bausch, it was certainly an interesting opener and response to the evening’s main work.

And wow, what a work.

Germaine Acogny and Malou Airaudo perform common ground[s] © Maarten Vanden Abeele

After cheering goodbye to the stage crew who had poured 3060kg of soil across the stage during the interval, dancers soon ran through the perfectly raked dirt to drop a red dress in its midst. Throughout the piece, the dress is treated with suspicion, as it is thrown between them or picked up then discarded. We discover that this dress is the symbol of the unfortunate soul who has been chosen as the Rite’s sacrifice to welcome in the new season. The victim in question, Manuella Hermine Kouassi, dances with distress in front of her emotionless (and let’s be honest, relieved) community as she thrashes and spins to her demise.

Stravinsky’s score is renowned for a reason. It is unrelentingly epic with crashing symbols and screaming, pacing violins that push the work forwards — there are but a few moments of calm. Only choreography that was equally as large could hope to not be swallowed up by such a score.

And Pina Bausch’s not only does that, but goes further, every step responding to some layer within the complex instrumentation. It has a frantic pace to it as dancers flit from tribalistic dancing in unison and jumping as straight as spears, to performing whip fast sequences in tandem. In softer moments the women became balletic - the piece had a ‘battle of the sexes’ undertone, the women the ones up for sacrifice after all - but all too soon the work sped up pace yet again as they ran in a circle behind a tormented soloist, or jumped, unsupported, onto the shoulder of their male partner.

Too soon the work came to its dramatic end. And as the audience brought the house down in appreciation for the effort and talent of the 34 dancers, you completely understand why choreographers are drawn to the dramatic possibilities of Stravinsky’s masterpiece. And with over 150 interpretations already in existence, it won’t be too long before another takes up this hefty gauntlet.

★★★★

common ground[s] by Germaine Acogny

The Rite of Spring by Pina Bausch

Sadler’s Wells, London / 6 November 2024

Press ticket

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