Pina Bausch

Philippine Bausch was born in Germany on 27 July 1940 and trained as a dancer before the choreographic work began. In the 1970s she created Tanztheater Wuppertal, the company that became her instrument, and developed a method that pulled her dancers into the creative process - not just performing steps but building the pieces themselves. The work blended movement with prominent sound design and involved stage sets, a stylised neo-expressionist approach that influenced modern dance from that decade forward. The company toured internationally, carrying that vocabulary outward. Bausch died on 30 June 2009, but the tradition she named - Tanztheater - remains hers.