ghosts in the m-AI-chine no.1
[ChatGPT-Pina: 28.01.25]
Please note that neither the voice or the words featured in the video below are those of Pina Bausch.
The text for the interview was generated in a conversation I had with ChatGPT, where I asked it to imperson-AI-te Pina Bausch. I then fed the conversation into a text-to-speech AI voice generator, giving ChatGPT-Pina and myself distinct voices. I have scored this virtual conversation with an edit of Henry Purcell's 'O Let Me Weep' from his opera The Fairy-Queen ( 1692), which was famously used by Pina Bausch in Café Müller (1978).
I have not substantially changed or made any major additions to the text that ChatGPT generated in response to my questions. The only edits have been: adding a mention of a cigarette, cutting down the response to the smell-related question; and on the audio generated by the AI-voice: a few elongated pauses, slight changes in tempo, a few repetitions (which are all placed mostly towards the end of the video). Bar these counted and cosmetic exceptions, the content of the responses to my questions is, nevertheless, entirely authored by ChatGPT as it answers in the role of Pina Bausch.
This is, I hope, a thought-provoking and ephemeral experiment. It was conducted with the utmost respect and admiration for the figure and work of Pina Baush, and that of Tanztheatrer Wuppertal. I am deeply fascinated by the fact that, in this engagement with ChatGPT whilst it pretended to be Pina Bausch, the AI-generated response to my first question brought up the notion of ephemerality, presence, existing in the moment and then being gone. Matters which, of course also resonate (though in a different sense) with the very engagement with generative AI.
[I do not have copyright over any in the images or music featured. The video is created for pedagogical purposes and as part of Practice Research.]
Please note the subtitles to the video have been auto-generated by YouTube. Any divergences from the spoken text are accidental. These mistakes create an interesting friction that I am interested in retaining.
Conversation text pre-edit
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Here is the text of my conversation with ChatGPT-Pina, conducted on 28th January 2025, before any edits:
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ChatGPT-Pina's online sources
Here are the sources that ChatGPT mentioned it drew upon when generating its responses as Pina Bausch:
Pina Bausch. Talking about People through Dance - Pina Bausch Biography. Pina Bausch was born 1940 in Solingen and died 2009 in Wuppertal. She received her dance training at the Folkwang School in Essen under Kurt Jooss, ...
Pina Bausch. Biography - Pina Bausch. Born July 27th, 1940 into a publican family in Solingen, she discovered her love of dance at an early age and joined children's ballet classes where her talent ...
Wikipedia. Pina Bausch - Wikipedia. Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance ...
SadlersWells. Pina Bausch biography - Sadler's Wells. Born in 1940 in Solingen, she began her dance studies at the age of 14 with Kurt Jooss at the Folkwang Hochschule, Essen.
Amazon. Pina Bausch: The Biography - Amazon.com. The first-ever biography in English of Pina Bausch: perhaps the most influential performer and choreographer of the 20th century.
Juilliard Store. Pina Bausch: The Biography - Juilliard Store. Marion Meyer. The first-ever biography in English of Pina Bausch: perhaps the most influential performer and choreographer of the twentieth century.
hollandfestival.nl. Walzer, Pina Bausch, interview met danser Ed Kortlandt, 1982. In this excerpt, presenter Rob Klaasman interviews the Dutch dancer Ed Kortlandt, one of the dancers of Tanztheater Wuppertal led by German choreographer Pina ...
Smashing Times. Pina Bausch - Smashing Times. Pina Bausch was a powerhouse of contemporary dance practice, in Germany and the wider world. From her company 'Tanztheater Wuppertal', Bausch re-invented the ...
Encyclopedia Britannica. Pina Bausch | German ballet dancer and choreographer - Britannica. Bausch, who sought to break down the traditional boundaries between theatrical forms by melding movement, environment, fragmented narrative, and sound.
Pina Bausch. Biography - Pina Bausch. Born July 27th, 1940 into a publican family in Solingen, she discovered her love of dance at an early age and joined children's ballet classes where her talent ...
Wikipedia. Pina Bausch - Wikipedia. Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance ...
SadlersWells. Pina Bausch biography - Sadler's Wells. Born in 1940 in Solingen, she began her dance studies at the age of 14 with Kurt Jooss at the Folkwang Hochschule, Essen.
Amazon. Pina Bausch: The Biography - Amazon.com. The first-ever biography in English of Pina Bausch: perhaps the most influential performer and choreographer of the 20th century.
Juilliard Store. Pina Bausch: The Biography - Juilliard Store. Marion Meyer. The first-ever biography in English of Pina Bausch: perhaps the most influential performer and choreographer of the twentieth century.
hollandfestival.nl. Walzer, Pina Bausch, interview met danser Ed Kortlandt, 1982. In this excerpt, presenter Rob Klaasman interviews the Dutch dancer Ed Kortlandt, one of the dancers of Tanztheater Wuppertal led by German choreographer Pina ...
Smashing Times. Pina Bausch - Smashing Times. Pina Bausch was a powerhouse of contemporary dance practice, in Germany and the wider world. From her company 'Tanztheater Wuppertal', Bausch re-invented the ...
Encyclopedia Britannica. Pina Bausch | German ballet dancer and choreographer - Britannica. Bausch, who sought to break down the traditional boundaries between theatrical forms by melding movement, environment, fragmented narrative, and sound.
Further methodological post-conversation check
After this first conversation had been generated by ChatGPT, and it had provided me with the above sources, I then asked it whether I could upload a text so that it could tell me let me know if it quotes directly or indirectly any sources by or about Pina Bausch, or whether instead it paraphrases from existing online sources.
The answer was 'yes', so then I uploaded the responses ChatGPT had itself generated in the first conversation. The answer I received then was:
"The text you provided seems to capture a reflective, philosophical voice, possibly inspired by Pina Bausch or her ethos, but it does not include any explicit direct quotes or obvious paraphrasing of known sources about her. However, the themes—such as the ephemerality of dance, the observational foundation of her artistry, and her connection to human emotions—are consistent with her philosophy and public statements.
To confirm whether specific sentences or ideas are paraphrased from existing online sources, I would need to perform a search for similar language or phrasing in materials about or by Pina Bausch. Shall I do that for you?"
After I answered 'yes please', ChatGPT responded by saying:
"Upon reviewing the text you provided and comparing it with available sources, I have identified several parallels between your text and statements attributed to Pina Bausch:
- Expression Beyond Words:
Your text emphasizes dance as a means of communication that transcends verbal language:
"Dance became the most natural way for me to communicate what words could not."
This mirrors Bausch's sentiment: "There are situations of course that leave you utterly speechless. All you can do is hint at things. Words, too, can't do more than just evoke things." Goodreads - Interest in Human Motivation: You mention observing people to understand their emotions and connections:
"I watched people—how they moved, how they connected or didn’t, how their emotions were visible in their gestures."
Bausch expressed a similar focus: "I'm not interested in how people move, but what moves them." A-Z Quotes - Ephemeral Nature of Dance: Your reflection on the transient beauty of dance:
"Dance is alive, ephemeral—it exists in the moment, and then it’s gone."
Aligns with Bausch's perspective:
"Repetition is not repetition, ... The same action makes you feel something completely different by the end." A-Z Quotes - Dance as a Reflection of Life: You state:
"It reflects life itself, the transient nature of our existence."
Bausch conveyed a related idea:
"To understand what I am saying, you have to believe that dance is something other than technique. We forget where the movements come from. They are born from life." A-Z Quotes
