A Specific Analysis of  Beauty and Ugliness in Dance Theatre Works

The beauty of the performance:

The group dance shows the natural movement of neatness and unity. The dancers are all running, jumping and other dynamic movements to visualise the primitive life force. The choreography emphasised the coordination of the body and the beauty of the harmony between music and movement, especially the visual effect of the group dance section. The stage is covered with a layer of fresh soil, symbolising the earth and the source of life, showing the beauty of nature.

Ugly performance:

The muddy stage symbolised a sense of chaos and violence, and the bodies of the dancers appeared coarse as they rolled and struggled in the mud, undermining the traditional aesthetic of elegance and cleanliness. The dancers chosen as victims move stiffly, hideously and painfully, and their emotions are filled with a sense of fear and oppression. The whole picture is filled with images of violence and destruction. The mechanical nature of the repetitive movements in the collective dance gives a strong sense of oppression and trepidation.

The opposition and fusion of beauty and ugliness:

Pina Bausch shows the coexistence of beauty and ugliness through the contrast between the group and the individual. The group dance shows the beauty of life, while the pain and struggle of the sacrificial individual symbolises the ugliness of violence. The clay symbolises nature and life, both beautiful and brutal, in which the sacrificed individual struggles, yet ultimately completes the offering with a sense of ritual, creating a complex fusion: beauty in the midst of ugliness, and ugliness in the midst of beauty.

The beauty of the performance:

Dressed in simple and plain white halter dresses, the dancers' slow and elegant movements show the delicacy in human emotions. For example, the soft body language and smooth movements of the female dancers show the fragility and tenderness of love. The stage lighting is soft and dim, creating a sad but beautiful atmosphere that further enhances the depth of emotion. The scene of the two dancers snuggling up to each other shows the desire and warmth of love, giving the work a certain human beauty.

Ugly performance:

The dancers take the initiative to repeat certain movements, symbolising the repression and detachment of emotions in human relationships. The chairs on the stage are constantly knocked over and moved, creating a visual effect of chaos and unease. The dancer's out-of-control body movements, such as falling and struggling, are full of instability, expressing deep inner pain and loneliness.

The opposition and fusion of beauty and ugliness: the contrast between the slow and elegant movements and the chaotic and mechanical scenes shows the complexity of human emotions, while the beauty of love and the depression of loneliness exist together. In this work, beauty and ugliness are no longer opposites, but interdependent. The expression of love is made more profound by pain, and the expression of loneliness is made more powerful by beauty. The prop of the chair is a symbol of both life and bondage, a tangle of beauty and ugliness.