Farewell to a Free Spirit

Déjà vu

Hartmut Regitz

There have been choreographers who, after an unfavorable review, have threatened their critics with a beating. Hans van Manen was not one of them. Even if he didn't always share the assessment of his work, physical violence would never have crossed his mind. He maintained form in everything, and not least in his pieces. One of his duets is called Déjà vu, quite deliberately a response to the accusation from some of his compatriots that he repeats himself too often. And he did just that, consciously and brilliantly, and in a completely different way: a duet as an interplay of human relationships, from which one could certainly glean something about the interplay of art and criticism. The choice of music, Fratres by Arvo Pärt, was not without ulterior motive.

No, it would never have occurred to Hans van Manen to describe Horst Koegler as a "schizophrenic weathercock" as John Cranko did in an interview, much to the amusement of the person in question. On the contrary, in 1974, of all places in Amsterdam, he acknowledged Koegler's "significance for the art of dance" and dedicated his Sacre to him. In his acceptance speech for tanz magazine's "Lifetime Achievement Award," he also mentioned Koegler's name, as well as that of Jochen Schmidt and others, to highlight their contribution to the cultural memory of such a fleeting and ephemeral art form as dance. Van Manen: "This is especially true in today's times, when culture and science, which are considered free in democratic countries, are subjected to harsh attacks and drastic cuts."

It was the last honor Hans van Manen received during his lifetime. His last speech. A kind of legacy that one should be aware of every time one encounters his ballets.

Editors’ note: Our author Hartmut Regitz was not only well acquainted with the choreographer and his work, but Van Manen also mentioned him in the abovementioned speech—“… so please allow me to highlight, above all, the dance critics Jochen Schmidt, Horst Koegler, and Hartmut Regitz.” A powerful trio in better times, as Hans van Manen suggested at the Württembergisches Staatstheater.