Dancing dreams

It's been 7 months since its release in Germany and soon in European metropolises and I'm still awaiting Wim Wenders' Pina in Montreal. In the mean time, Cinema du Parc had been thoughtful enough to cater to the enthusiasm of Montrealers by screening the last film where "Pina Bausch" is seen, working eagerly on a dance project, "Kontakthof", with 40 amateur teenagers

After gathering these youth who had neither danced before nor had even heard of Pina Bausch, dancers Jo-Ann Endicott and Benedicte Billet lead them into what Pina had in mind, to manifest their innermost feelings through a common language, contact. They had to practice demonstrating their proximity while their bodies were close to each other. They learned how to touch one another and show their affection. One of the teenagers said that he hadn't even touched his girlfriend with this much affection, he just didn't know how. "I made friends with people whom I would ignore if I saw them in the streets" said another one.

Some of us might not take teenagers seriously simply because they seem immature but it takes hope and patience for a person like Pina to invest in them. She chose them to show how capable they can be in uncovering our very intimate feelings. This is a process that took 10 months, during which these adolescents learned how to respect one another, be serious at performing and connect not only with each other but also with their inner self.

They learned to build trust and become so close in a community that they find themselves talking about their worst romantic failures. They learned how to show charm in a seductive way, to portray insecurity through their moves, to epitomize confidence in laughing out loud while running and to connect with the roles they perform. The tender and reticent encounters at times turn into audacious confrontations.

To me, Pina was not just a choreographer and performer, she delved into the psyche in order to bring out the latent talents humans possess. Pina was successful because she "was not interested in how people move, but what moves them" and that's how she came to realize this project and show us the beauty of human encounters which culminated in the opening night at the end of the film.

Dancing dreams is screened at Cinema du parc with both English and French.