Aatt enen tionon. Photo Credit: Roy VanderVegt
Club Amour is a series of three performances. Depending on the time and the day, you may see Aatt enen tionon and Herses, duo first, followed by Café Müller, or vice versa.
Club Amour is presented by Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch and Terrain Boris Charmatz.
If you have never had the opportunity to set foot on the Festival Theatre stage, Aatt enen tionon provides a chance to do just that. The audience is guided up the side steps and invited to sit or stand on the stage, which is fitted with three giant balls of light and a scaffolding-type structure three levels high, with a dancer on each level, while punk rock music plays loudly. The dancers are dressed in streetwear.
Over time, the dancers gradually remove their clothing until they are dancing in only a white t-shirt. This is not fundamental, as the movement shifts between beautiful, slow movements but also focuses on experimenting with the space created by the scaffold structure and the dancers’ bodies. The music drops out, and at times, the only sound is that of the dancers’ breathing as they move on the wooden boards beneath them. This builds to increasingly intentional bangs made with different parts of the body on the floor. The performance is intersected with a droning chant and a vocal melody from the dancer on the top floor. Throughout the performance, there are recurring themes of movement (e.g., an arm raised in the air), but the three dancers do not move in synchronisation. The movements are erratic, though not radically so.
Part of the appeal of Club Amour is the audience involvement and the presence during set changes. This adds to the raw presentation of the pieces and creates a sense of behind-the-scenes exclusivity, vulnerability, and openness.
Herses, duo is a beautiful performance of serious play between two dancers. Entering nude, the two performers move across the space, often using only each other as a point of contact, rather than the floor. This dynamic alternates between the female and the male. The sense of togetherness through change is somewhat comforting. The performance is both serious and playful—like a game of ‘the floor is lava’. The two bodies are in complete contact, and the many ways their bodies can connect are explored in this curious and meditative piece. Both Aatt enen tionon and Herses, duoare works by Boris Charmatz.
After a 20-minute interval, the audience is seated in the stalls of the theatre for Café Müller. Chairs are scattered across the length of the stage, and the performance begins with a dancer, eyes closed, moving around the stage with palms open and facing forward. Other characters enter, including one who quickly moves the furniture out of the way as the dancer continues to move across the stage. Repetitions, relationships, connection, and habits are reflected in the movements of the performance. This is the Australian premiere of the work, showcasing the artistry of choreographer Pina Bausch.
One of the fascinating aspects of music and dance is how they move through time. For example, Café Müller, set to works by Henry Purcell, an English composer of Baroque music (1659–1695), was first created in 1978 and is now being performed for the Adelaide Festival in 2025.
Club Amour was impeccably received by an electric audience. The performances are complementary, yet provide distinct differences, with movement and the human form offering a common thread. While contemporary in parts, some elements are slightly radical, with meaning left open to interpretation. The production creates a dreamlike state in the audience through meditative or powerful, primal movements, and the juxtaposition between both. Club Amour is powerful, raw, and enthralling.
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