TRIM; Bauhaus ballet

The Bauhaus are famed for their innovation in design; through trimming away the excess to leave only the valuable product. Oskar Schlemmer is praised for staging the Triadic Ballet works, and famously quoting it, ‘Artistic, metaphysical mathematics’. The idea of cutting away excess in performance is not the obvious go to if you will, however, Schlemmer saw an opportunity in this. Adding a mathematical formula to the ballets, it forced them to never include what wasn’t necessary, creating beautifully simplistic performances, that are a must in any performance art lecture.

The Bauhaus School of Arts was founded by Walter Gropius in 1919. Wanting to create a school with new perspective in design, architecture and performance through space, Gropius decided that a new school must be started. Unlike Futurist or Dada performances, the Bauhaus performances were based on law, order and a precise structure. The ballets use of simple forms such as sitting, jumping and walking, provide room for artistic licence within the piece. Later, they introduced colour as a code for tempo as well as props to add another creative element to the performance. However, always being focused on simplicity and the human figure.

A stand out performance, is the ‘The Gesture Dance’ from 1926, the work shows the relationship between complex geometric forms and everyday actions through creative performance. When planning the work, Schlemmer decided to create an entire notation system which displayed every movement to be made through linear patterns. All the dancers were dressed in primary colours, which was the most effective way of displaying each medium. In essence, this performance perfectly highlights the balance of creativity and necessity through performance.

The Bauhaus still lives on today, for example, designer Bert Frank has created lights with longevity in mind inspired by the Bauhaus. Adding a touch of luxury to your home, these lights focus on clean, geometric forms combined with functionality to create an effortless balance of design and practicality. When dealing with design, finding a piece that stands out but also fits in with your home aesthetic can be difficult. However, with this extensive range of designs, there is no shortage of luxury possibilities.