“Pina,” March 17

Thursday, March 17, 6:30 p.m.

Figge Art Museum, 225 West Second Street, Davenport IA

The debut presentation in the Figge Art Museum's “Film at the Figge” series – a monthly program featuring award-winning, independent movies about the arts screened in the Davenport venue's John Deere Auditorium – Wim Wenders' critically acclaimed documentary Pina will be shown on March 17, the film an Academy Award-nominated tribute to legendary choreographer Pina Bausch.

A German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as Tanztheater, Philippine "Pina" Bausch was noted for a stylized blend of dance movement, prominent sound design, and involved stage sets. She was also revered for engaging the dancers under her to help in the development of a piece, and her work had an influence on modern dance from the 1970s onward. Regarded as a continuation of the European and American expressionist movements, Bausch's work incorporated many expressly dramatic elements and often explored themes connected to trauma, particularly trauma arising out of relationships. The choreographer also created the company Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, which continues to perform internationally.

During preparation for the documentary in 2009, Bausch unexpectedly passed, and director Wenders cancelled the production. The other dancers of Tanztheater Wuppertal, however, convinced him to make the film anyway, and the finished product – originally presented in 3D – showcases these talents, who talk about Bausch's work and her legacy, and perform some of her best-known pieces inside the Tanztheater Wuppertal and in various outdoor locations around the city of Wuppertal. Reviews of Wenders' achievement were overwhelmingly positive, with Rotten Tomatoes' critical consensus calling Pina "an immersive, gorgeously shot tribute to the people who express life through movement." Kimberley Jones of the Austin Chronicle praised the work as an "utterly transfixing, exhilarating spectacle of bodies in motion." And writing for the New York Times, A.O. Scott raved, "Pina is, above all, an act of preservation, a memorial that is also a defiance of mortality – completely alive in every dimension."

Pina will be screened locally on March 17, admission to the 6:30 p.m. film is free as part of the museum's “Thursdays at the Figge” programming, and more information is available by calling (563)326-7804 and visiting FiggeArtMuseum.org.