And the condition was always: listening, listening, listening. It was a permanent play with trial and error. Photograph: Murdo Macleod Photograph: Murdo MacleodĪnd how did they begin to select a piece of music? “We both always started from zero, like on a white sheet of paper. It was always a courageous step – there was always the risk of disturbing or even destroying something through a wrong choice.” It was always the most exciting moment, when we dared to let the dance meet a piece of music or the other way around. It was important for her that the form of the dance had an independent life, an independent story to tell. “Pina didn’t want the movements, the dancers, being influenced by any mood from the outside. “Mostly – 99% – the dance was created independent of any music,” he replies. “Pina always gave them credit for introducing her to a lot of musicians.” I corresponded with Burkert, who worked with Bausch for 30 years, and began by asking him whether the choreography began with specific music in mind. Wenders remembers the “great complicity” Bausch had with her two music advisers, Matthias Burkert and Andreas Eisenschneider. “After Café Müller, maybe Lutz Förster’s pantomime solo in Nelken (Carnations) would come to mind, with The Man I Love.” It’s a sensational solo in which Förster – who took over as artistic director of the company after Bausch’s 2009 death – interprets the Gershwins’ yearning song through sign language. When I ask Wenders which of Bausch’s pieces use music best, he responds in desperation (“Where would I begin?”) but settles on a favourite. When Wenders made his 3D documentary Pina, there was even a release for its spectacular soundtrack which includes everything from the Sephardic folksong La Prima Vez, sung by Owain Phyfe, to the jazzy rump-shaker Fat Ass Joint by Brazilian producer Amon Tobin. The featured artists include Brian Eno, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Gustavo Santaolalla. Take Sweet Mambo, one of the highlights at this year’s Edinburgh international festival. Her company of dancers hail from around the world – Australian Julie Shanahan, Russian Andrey Berezin, Daphnis Kokkinos from Greece, to choose just three – and her soundtracks have a similarly international mix.

Such is the power of the eclectic tracks used in the performances of her company, Tanztheater Wuppertal, it is the music as well as the moves that stays with you.

Ryuichi sakamoto sheet music