10/6/99

Diane Manuel, News Service (650) 725-1945; e-mail: dmanuel@leland.stanford.edu

Presidential Lectures host dancer, pianist, art historian, poet

When Pina Bausch strides into Roble Dance Studio on Oct. 18 to launch this year's presidential lectures, the former prima ballerina can be expected to continue ­ in dramatic performance and onstage interview ­ the provocative discussions of the past four academic quarters.

Founder of Germany's Tanztheater Wuppertal, the iconoclastic choreographer is known for her innovative and disturbing work, such as the dance piece that is built on an ominous "Garden of Eden" populated by women in tantrums and men in drag.

Pianist and musicologist Charles Rosen also will perform, playing works by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms on Nov. 5. The Friday evening recital will be followed by a Saturday symposium on "Past Dependencies," involving specialists in the social sciences, law and the humanities.

On Nov. 8 art historian Svetlana Alpers will pose the theoretical question "What Are We Looking For? Expectations in Art History." A specialist in Baroque painting who has written widely on the work of Rubens and Rembrandt, Alpers will talk about the kinds of questions we ask when we interact with visual art.

Chinese poet Bei Dao, who was accused of inciting the 1989 protesters in Tienanmen Square and subsequently forced into exile, will bring a literary voice to the discussions on Nov. 29, when he gives a reading, accompanied by an English translation, of selections from his latest work.

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By Diane Manuel