Pina Bausch - Café Müller

Café Müller is another piece by Pina Bausch that sparked some inspiration for the choreography.

Similar to when I critically reviewed another piece of Bausch's, The Rite of Spring, upon first watching I was unsure of what the meaning or stimulus behind it was, I could see that the piece appeared to be set in some kind of café, in which there was a woman who seems to be potentially mentally ill due to all of her jerking and repetitious movements, this relates back to our own choreography as the aim of ours was to raise awareness of all the mental health illnesses out there that so many deal with on a daily basis. A little later on in the piece, a few other people enter the stage going about their life but also with frequent moments of peculiarity too. Café Müller features lots of repetition and jolty movements which perhaps could be interpreted as a way of exemplifying mental illnesses. 

In terms of the music, it's very regular for the most part, this is reflected through the movements of the performers which are repetitious. The piece as a whole has a sense of franticness, represented through both the music, movements and their relationship.

I wasn't able to pick up on any choreographic devices that we've previously talked about in class besides repetition, the whole price seems to revolve around this technique which I personally think has a good effect.

After researching a bit about the piece, I discovered one interpretation that states that the set of it is meant to resemble a canteen of a mental hospital. The performers are believed to be inmates with the exception of the one lady wearing heels who is most likely a visitor, rushing around the set in a frenzy-like manner. They create intermittent episodes of violent movements followed by slower contrasting ones (Croce, 1984). 

Another claims the piece to be set in dark and cramped restaurant, with the woman apparently sleepwalking whilst the rest a devastated bunch playing out "a litany of tender cruelties as they lift, drop and chase each other in a feedback loop of perpetual disappointment" (Café Müller/The Rite of Spring, 2017).

Link to extract I am reviewing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXMluQ75k5g

Bibliography:

Croce, A., 1984. Presidential Lectures: Pina Bausch - Café Müller. [online] Prelectur.stanford.edu. Available at: <https://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/bausch/cafe_m.html> [Accessed 3 December 2020].

2013. Pina Bausch - Café Muller. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXMluQ75k5g> [Accessed 29 November 2020]. 

BAM.org. 2017. Café Müller/The Rite Of Spring. [online] Available at: <https://www.bam.org/dance/2017/cafe-muller-the-rite-of-spring> [Accessed 3 December 2020].