Orientalism, Orientation, and the Nomadic Work of Pina Bausch

This book analyses the Tanztheater Wuppertal in light of Edward Said’s theory of Orientalism. Deirdre Mulrooney does this by examinng how Pina Bausch and her company negotiate foreign cities in Viktor, Palermo Palermo, Tanzabend 2, 1991, and Ein Trauerspiel. Mulrooney makes these four script-less productions available for academic investigation by transcribing them and taking them as a paradigm for Bausch’s entire oeuvre. She thus illustrates how Pina Bausch has developed a transformative theatrical language which both shakes off the nation-narration, and cultivates a new way of looking at the world.