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Ladies & Gentlemen Over 65
Dir.: Lilo Mangelsdorff | 70 minutes

Ladies & Gentlemen Over 65

Germany 2002 | 70 minutes | German | Hebrew, English subtitles

"Wanted: Ladies and Gentlemen over 65" thus begins an ad placed in a local newspaper in Wuppertal in Germany by the choreographer Pina Bausch. She decided to audition nonprofessional, older male and female dancers for a new production of her work Kontakthof.

Out of 150 candidates, 25 were selected – some of them had never danced a step before – and trained for over a year. The premiere took place in Wuppertal in 2000, and the new company then toured around the world. The film follows them as they learn to perform modern dance, struggle with the demands of rigorous training, reflect on the realities of aging, and take on new challenges.

"Ladies and Gentlemen Over 65" is a sensitive, humorous and touching documentary film that not only focuses on its protagonists in their capacity as "old dancers", but also in their individuality and in this way also shows a lot of the spirit of Pina Bausch, without that it is itself present.