Last summer on a flight to Colorado, the passenger sitting next to me was a German videographer. Specifically, he recorded dance pieces. I had danced for many years, decades even, so we immediately struck up a conversation about the complexities of recording dance and how usually no one is satisfied with the result. Then he went on to tell me how he worked with the Pina Bausch dancers. Pina Bausch! I knew all about Pina Bausch. Just two summers prior to this meeting I had danced with a theater group who did a whole tribute to Pina Bausch. Coincidence?

I had heard about Pina as a college student, but did not know much about her as a choreographer, other than she was cutting edge and, of course, German. When I joined this theater group in mid-life, which was quite by accident I might add, I didn’t know that much more…