In Memoriam - Bob Rease

From Contactencyclopedia

With sorrow, we announce the sudden passing of our friend and colleague, Bob Rease.
In an interview during a residency at the University of Calgary, Canada, in 1984, Bob stated: “I think of the stage as an arena. When you step onto it you have to have earned the right to do that. You have to challenge yourself each time. After years of performance I know how important it is to be prepared to do that, because that is the creative act – the performance.”
After spending his childhood in Portland, Oregon, Bob came to New York City in the early ‘70s, where he studied at the Louis-Nikolais Dance Lab, danced with Ping Chong and immersed himself in the revolutionary climate of the Performing Arts.
He then moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota where he spent two years at Nancy Hauser’s Guild of the Performing Arts.
In 1977, Bob moved to San Francisco and joined Mangrove, a men’s improvisational performance collective and a principle exponent of Contact Improvisation in the Bay Area. For the next 3 years he toured intensively with Mangrove, teaching and performing across the U.S., Canada and Europe. During this time he also toured in duo with Mangrove member Ernie Adams, with whom he initiated collaborations with local artists in Germany and Switzerland. Regarding that period, he says, “The years of improvisational performance were exciting and took tremendous energy and training. I was always performing, always improvising. I became more theatrical and began to want to set things. To frame every piece within a concept design. To craft a script so as to communicate the concept most effectively.
When Mangrove decided to disband in 1980, Bob established himself as an independent choreographer and co-founded and directed the Players Co. in San Francisco.
In 1983, Bob moved his base to Berlin, Germany. Barely a year later he became co-director, with filmmaker/dancemaker Dieter Heitkamp, of an all-male group – Projekt 5 Mann. In the years following, he initiated and participated in innumerable projects in Europe, continuing his commitment to the development and teaching of improvisational dance and theater techniques – and the art of performance. *

* The above was gleaned from several flyers and articles about Bob.

The letter that follows was written by Bob’s colleagues in Berlin and sent to his family for their memorial service in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Memorial gatherings for Bob were also held in Berlin, Minneapolis and San Francisco. Memorial donations may be sent to Tanzfabrik, Möckernstr. 68, W-1000 Berlin 67, Germany.

1st of May, 1991
Berlin, Germany

Last night we held a memorial ceremony for Bob.
It took place in a beautiful dance studio with a shrine in the middle, made from a pure marble slate that had stood next to his bed, surrounded by flower bouquets and pictures of Bob. As each person walked in they lit a candle for his spirit and placed it on the marble slate. There were many, many, many candles!
There were people present who knew him for a long time and people he had just met. People who loved him as a teacher and mentor, as a dancer and choreographer, and those who loved him as a friend.
After an hour of silent memorial and listening to music that had been important to him, we came together in a large circle and shared little stories and memories about Bob. We became conscious of what an important role he had played for the whole dance community and the individuals in it. There were many who said that it was only because of Bob that they had had the courage to start dancing! He encouraged people! He never judged: instead he helped people to discover who they were and so realize themselves.
Bob was always constructive and positive. Whether he was critiquing a dance piece, giving personal feedback or just talking person to person he would always find a positive and redeeming quality. Even in the most unfinished work, or when you felt uncertain or inadequate, he would find a glimpse of perfection – a place for strength that you could either build from, a way to develop further, a goal to strive toward!
Bob was a fair and good man. He treated women and men, those of lesser and greater talent, those of different backgrounds with equality and equanimity. And Bob was fully present in the moment. When you spoke to Bob, you knew that he heard you. When he watched you dance, you knew he really saw you. He was clear and strong in his perception, decisive and full of strength and energy.
A couple of weeks ago Bob bought a brand new refrigerator… with a freezer! He said, “People in Germany don’t have that: freezers.” And he was so proud that now he could cook all the delicious foods he loved to make and share with his friends, and them freeze them! He said he needed special soup and sauce bases pre-prepared and frozen for his cooking adventures. And when Bob cooked, he cooked with a passion, and there was always so much food left over that he needed a freezer desperately!
Recently we needed to have a short talk about the coming project, so Bob suggested that we drop by his apartment at about lunchtime for a cup of coffee and a bite to eat. When we arrived we found that he had cooked for hours and hours the day before… right through the night until the wee hours of the morning. For our little meeting Bob had prepared a 12-course meal! There were salads; rice salad with pine nuts and raisins, tabouli with fresh lemon and parsley, fresh green vegetables, an eggplant dip, and humus, and there were two fresh home-baked breads… whole wheat, and a zucchini-nut-date bread with the juice of 12 squeezed oranges… he had cut the dates very big so that they could be tasted… and there was a quiche, and more fresh orange juice to drink… and something very special he called “Baps”. After the brunch he wanted to give each of us a couple to take home, but we said, “Put them in the freezer and we’ll eat them another time!” We didn’t think it would be without him. We shared them with all of his friends that came to the celebration. We felt he could be watching us from wherever he is, smiling. “I hope you like them. They’re made with real cheddar cheese! And that is rare to find.” He had such a wonderful, spirited, and dry sense of humor.
Decisions, organization, planing. For us Bob was masterful at these things too. Linda said, “He was so private.” Yes, he was, but he also always had time to listen and help. He was expert at giving suggestions that would open your perceptions and support you to see something from a different angle – he didn’t tell you what to do, but supported you to be able to help yourself.
He was a living dance history book. He had seen so much, met so many great artists, taught so many people. And the many people who came to remember him, and the many more who could not be here, are a living testament that Bob was one of the great influences in the European Dance Community.
Bob brought Contact Improvisation here. He opened our horizons about what kind of dancing is possible. He taught us dynamics, timing and momentum. He showed us how to be clear with form and content, how to give weight and how to support, how to fall and how to fly.
Bob had a home here. He was an important person for many people all over Europe. He served a great role in the culture here, and he was well rewarded with recognition, friendship and love.
That Bob is not here anymore we cannot grasp or understand. The loss is confusing and painful for us. But Bob had, has, an enormous Spirit, and that spirit will continue to live in our hearts, our dances, and our lives.

We loved Bob very much and we will never forget him.

Bob’s friends,
    Dieter Heitkamp
    Katharina Rustler
    Kurt Koegel