Meryl Tankard has returned to Sadler’s Wells this April with Kontakthof – Echoes of ’78, a reimagining of Pina Bausch’s seminal 1978 work that brings together original cast members in an affecting revival.
Presented as part of the 2026 Elixir Festival, the season runs from 8–11 April and offers London audiences an opportunity to see one of Bausch’s defining works reframed through time, memory and lived experience. For Australian audiences, Tankard’s central role in the project marks another enduring national legacy continuing to shape the international stage.
Originally created at a moment when Bausch’s voice was beginning to resonate globally, Kontakthof explored human connection in its most exposed forms. Set within a formal social space, it examines the tensions between desire and restraint, vulnerability and performance. “Kontakthof is a place where people meet who are searching for contact. To show yourself, to deny yourself. With fears. Desire. Disappointments,” Bausch wrote of the work.
In Echoes of ’78, Tankard returns not only as a former interpreter of the role, but as the artist shaping its re-encounter. Nine of the original dancers reprise their parts, their presence layered with projections of archival footage from their younger selves, alongside images of performers no longer living. The result is a work that moves between past and present with unusual clarity, holding both in view without sentimentality.
The production has already drawn significant attention across Europe, selected for the 2025 Theatertreffen in Berlin, one of the most prominent platforms for theatre in the German-speaking world. Its inclusion signals the continued relevance of Bausch’s repertoire, as well as the strength of this particular reconstruction.
Tankard’s involvement carries particular weight. As one of Australia’s most influential dance artists, her career has long bridged continents, from her formative years with Tanztheater Wuppertal to her leadership across Australian companies and independent work. This return to Kontakthof is less a revival than a continuation, shaped by decades of artistic and personal experience.
The Sadler’s Wells season forms part of an international tour, with performances to follow in Wuppertal and Lugano later in 2026. For audiences in London, it offers a rare convergence: the original bodies, the accumulated years, and a work that continues to ask what it means to be seen.