Pina Bausch’s Masterpiece, A Must-see for Lin Hwai-min!

“Most Compelling Work, Full of Beauty, Horror and Surreal Humor!”
—— Daily Telegraph

Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch is coming to Taiwan for the sixth time. With a record of completely sold-out within the shortest time for every performance in Taiwan, the company is expected to make another record with Pina Bausch’s masterpiece Palermo, Palermo this time. On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall collapsed. Just as an essential page of European history seemed to be written in Germany, Pina Bausch was in Sicily, Italy, an island governed by both the God and the Mafia, and created the piece bearing the name of the capital city in Sicily.

In silence, the black curtains rise to reveal a tall wall blocking the entire width of the stage. Suddenly, without warning, the wall collapses inwards, filling the stage with rubble and the air with red dust. Dancers walk through the ruins either barefoot or in high-heels. As if in a collective vertigo, the glamorous dance begins in the rubbles: six pianists playing the opening of Tchaikovsky’s concerto; a woman who dabs her lips with sugar imploring for a kiss; 28 dancers shouting and begging to each other, telling the lightness and sadness of their lives; scenes of absurdity interwoven with irrelevant passages—all singing the same motif of life: craving for love and redemption through love. Since its premiere in 1989, Palermo, Palermo has amazed numerous audiences around the world. Now it finally comes to Taiwan and leads the Taiwan audiences to search for love in the ruins.