In 1973 Pina Bausch became artistic director of the Wuppertal Opera Ballet, an institution that she renamed Tanztheater Wuppertal two years later, instigating a veritable revolution with the advent of the dance-theatre movement. Based in an industrial city in the North Rhine-Westphalia region, the company performs some thirty shows a year there, in addition to its many performances abroad.
29 of the 42 pieces in her repertoire are still performed, including Orpheus and Eurydice and The Rite of Spring, which is also performed by the Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris. Characterized by soundtracks of eclectic music of all sorts, most of her pieces involve elaborate, often spectacular sets (giant rocks, waterfalls, a mountain of flowers, a field of carnations, hedges, a boat), created since 1980 by Peter Pabst. The costumes typical of the Bausch aesthetic include evening gowns, business suits and flowing robes.
The company currently numbers 34 dancers from 17 different countries. Three generations work together on the pieces. The older dancers pass on their roles to the younger ones, sharing the experience inscribed in their bodies. New works by promising young choreographers are gradually expanding the repertoire and carrying on the legacy of Pina Bausch. In 2018 the artists selected were Alan Lucien Øyen and Dimitris Papaioannou, followed in 2021 by Richard Siegal and Rainer Behr, and since 2022, by French choreographer Boris Charmatz.