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'''William Forsythe''' (born December 30, 1949 in [[New York City]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[dancer]] and [[choreographer]] resident in [[Frankfurt am Main]] in [[Hessen]]. He is known internationally for his work with the Ballett Frankfurt (1984–2004) and [[The Forsythe Company]] (2005–present). His early dance works are acknowledged{{by whom|date=January 2013}} for reorienting the practice of ballet from its identification with classical repertoire to a dynamic 21st-century art form, while his more recent works have further extended his research on the performative{{clarify|date=January 2013}} potentials of dance and his investigation of choreography as a fundamental{{fact|date=January 2013}} principle of organization.
'''William Forsythe''' (born December 30, 1949 in [[New York City]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[dancer]] and [[choreographer]] resident in [[Frankfurt am Main]] in [[Hessen]]. He is known internationally for his work with the Ballett Frankfurt (1984–2004) and [[The Forsythe Company]] (2005–present). His early dance works are acknowledged{{by whom|date=January 2013}} for reorienting the practice of ballet from its identification with classical repertoire to a dynamic 21st-century art form, while his more recent works have further extended his research on the performative{{clarify|date=January 2013}} potentials of dance and his investigation of choreography as a fundamental{{fact|date=January 2013}} principle of organization.


⚫
Forsythe has produced and collaborated on numerous installation works, including ''White Bouncy Castle'' (1997, in collaboration with Dana Caspersen and Joel Ryan), ''City of Abstracts'' (2000), ''Scattered Crowd'' (2002), ''airdrawing|whenever on on on nohow on'' (2004, collaborating with Peter Welz), and ''You made me a monster'' (2005). Installation works by Forsythe have been shown at the Louvre Museum, Venice Biennale, [[Artangel]] in London, [[Creative Time]] in New York, the [[Renaissance Society]] in Chicago<ref>[http://www.renaissancesociety.org/site/Exhibitions/Intro.Peter-Welzin-collaboration-with-William-Forsythe-Whenever-on-on-on-nohow-on-%7C-Airdrawing.90.html William Forsythe at the Renaissance Society]</ref>, and other prominent locations. His short film ''Solo'' was presented at the 1997 [[Whitney Biennial]]. In 2006, a major exhibition of his performance, film and installation work was presented at the [[Pinakothek der Moderne]] in Munich.
==Career==
Forsythe was born in [[Manhasset, New York]] on December 30, 1949 and was a fan of [[Fred Astaire]] in his youth. He danced in high school and socially, choreographing for musicals and winning contests in the [[Mashed Potato]]. He received his first formal dance training at [[Jacksonville University]], [[Florida]], where he studied classical ballet and modern dance. He credits his early teachers in Florida as especially influential: [[Nolan Dingman]], an early company member under George Balanchine, Christa Long, who told him that he was a choreographer, and a Mme. Boscovich, whom he claims first taught him to dance backward. Forsythe later trained at the school of the [[Joffrey Ballet]] under scholarship, as well as at the [[School of American Ballet]] in [[New York City]] and in additional classes with Maggie Black, [[Finis Jung]], Jonathan Watts, [[Meredith Baylis]], [[William Griffith (dancer)|William Griffith]], [[Leon Danelian]], Mme. Peryaslavec, and [[Pat Wilde]]. He briefly joined the [[Joffrey Ballet]] in 1971, and was invited by John Cranko to join the [[Stuttgart Ballet]] three years later. He produced his first choreography for the Stuttgart Ballet in 1976 as part of a young choreographer's showcase and was subsequently named Resident Choreographer of the ensemble. He held this position until 1981, when he left the Stuttgart company to pursue a career as a freelance choreographer. During these years, he created works for ballet companies in [[Munich]], [[The Hague]], [[London]], [[Basel]], [[Berlin]], [[Frankfurt am Main]], [[Paris]], [[New York]] and [[San Francisco]].

In 1983, Forsythe choreographed ''Gänge,'' a controversial work subtitled "A piece about ballet," for the Frankfurt State Theater. In spite of the scandalous reception{{fact|date=January 2013}} to this work, the Frankfurt theater offered him the position of Ballet Director in 1984. Forsythe directed the Frankfurt Ballet (Ballett Frankfurt) from 1984 until 2004, choreographing such seminal pieces such as ''Artifact'' (1984), ''Die Befragung des Robert Scott'' (1986) [[Impressing the czar|''Impressing the Czar'']] (1988), ''Limb’s Theorem'' (1990), ''The Loss of Small Detail'' (1991), ''ALIE/<u>N ''A(C)TION''</u>'' (1992), ''Eidos : Telos'' (1995), ''Endless House'' (1999), ''Kammer/ Kammer'' (2000), and ''Decreation'' (2003). After the closure of the Frankfurt Ballet in 2004, Forsythe established [[The Forsythe Company]] with the support of the states of [[Saxony]] and [[Hesse]], the cities of [[Dresden]] and Frankfurt am Main, and private sponsors in a public-private co-operative venture. The Forsythe Company is based at the Bockenheimer Depot in Frankfurt am Main and the Festspielhaus Hellerau in Dresden and also maintains an extensive international touring schedule. Important works created for The Forsythe Company include ''Three Atmospheric Studies'' (2005), ''Human Writes'' (2005), ''Heterotopia'' (2006), and ''Yes we can't'' (2008).

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In addition, Forsythe has produced and collaborated on numerous installation works, including ''White Bouncy Castle'' (1997, in collaboration with Dana Caspersen and Joel Ryan), ''City of Abstracts'' (2000), ''Scattered Crowd'' (2002), ''airdrawing|whenever on on on nohow on'' (2004, collaborating with Peter Welz), and ''You made me a monster'' (2005). Installation works by Forsythe have been shown at the Louvre Museum, Venice Biennale, [[Artangel]] in London, [[Creative Time]] in New York, the [[Renaissance Society]] in Chicago<ref>[http://www.renaissancesociety.org/site/Exhibitions/Intro.Peter-Welzin-collaboration-with-William-Forsythe-Whenever-on-on-on-nohow-on-%7C-Airdrawing.90.html William Forsythe at the Renaissance Society]</ref>, and other prominent locations. His short film ''Solo'' was presented at the 1997 [[Whitney Biennial]]. In 2006, a major exhibition of his performance, film and installation work was presented at the [[Pinakothek der Moderne]] in Munich.

Forsythe's dance works have been performed by, among others: [[Mariinsky Ballet|The Kirov Ballet]]; The [[New York City Ballet]]; The [[San Francisco Ballet]]; The [[National Ballet of Canada]]; [[The Royal Ballet]], [[Covent Garden]]; The [[Paris Opera Ballet]]; [[The Joffrey Ballet]]; The [[Bolshoi Ballet]]; and The [[Royal Ballet of Flanders]].


==Dance Education==
==Dance Education==

Revision as of 07:35, 18 January 2013

This article is about the choreographer. For the actor, see William Forsythe (actor).

William Forsythe (born December 30, 1949 in New York City) is an American dancer and choreographer resident in Frankfurt am Main in Hessen. He is known internationally for his work with the Ballett Frankfurt (1984–2004) and The Forsythe Company (2005–present). His early dance works are acknowledged[by whom?] for reorienting the practice of ballet from its identification with classical repertoire to a dynamic 21st-century art form, while his more recent works have further extended his research on the performative[clarification needed] potentials of dance and his investigation of choreography as a fundamental[citation needed] principle of organization.

Forsythe has produced and collaborated on numerous installation works, including White Bouncy Castle (1997, in collaboration with Dana Caspersen and Joel Ryan), City of Abstracts (2000), Scattered Crowd (2002), airdrawing|whenever on on on nohow on (2004, collaborating with Peter Welz), and You made me a monster (2005). Installation works by Forsythe have been shown at the Louvre Museum, Venice Biennale, Artangel in London, Creative Time in New York, the Renaissance Society in Chicago[1], and other prominent locations. His short film Solo was presented at the 1997 Whitney Biennial. In 2006, a major exhibition of his performance, film and installation work was presented at the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich.

Dance Education

In 1994, Forsythe authored a pioneering[citation needed] and award-winning[citation needed] computer application Improvisation Technologies: A Tool for the Analytical Dance Eye which is used by professional companies, dance conservatories, universities, postgraduate architecture programs and secondary schools. 2009 marked the launch of Synchronous Objects for One Flat Thing,reproduced, an interactive web project developed in collaboration with The Ohio State University which offers extensive interdisciplinary insight into the complex structures of choreographic thinking. Motion Bank, a new four-year project of The Forsythe Company, launched in late 2010. Providing a broad context for research into choreographic practice, the project's main focus is on the creation and publication of on-line digital scores in collaboration with guest choreographers.

As an educator, Forsythe is regularly invited to lecture and give workshops at major universities and cultural institutions internationally. He served as the first Mentor in Dance in the inaugural cycle of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative and currently co-directs and teaches in the Dance Apprentice Network Across Europe (D.A.N.C.E.) program. Forsythe has been awarded an honorary fellowship from the Laban Centre in London and an honorary doctorate from the Juilliard School.

Selected works

  • 1976 Urlicht
  • 1983 Gänge
  • 1983 France/Dance
  • 1984 Artifact
  • 1986 Isabelle's Dance
  • 1986 Die Befragung des Robert Scott
  • 1987 In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated
  • 1988 Impressing the Czar
  • 1990 Limb's Theorem
  • 1991 The Second Detail
  • 1991 Loss of Small Detail
  • 1992 ALIE/N A(C)TION
  • 1994 Self Meant to Govern
  • 1995 Eidos:Telos
  • 1996 The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude
  • 1999 Endless House
  • 2000 One Flat Thing, reproduced
  • 2000 Kammer/Kammer[2]
  • 2003 Decreation
  • 2005 Three Atmospheric Studies
  • 2005 You made me a monster
  • 2006 Heterotopia
  • 2007 The Defenders
  • 2008 Yes we can't
  • 2008 I Don't Believe in Outer Space
  • 2009 The Returns

Awards

Forsythe has been chosen as Choreographer Of The Year several times by international critics’ surveys.[citation needed] Forsythe’s choreography and his companies’ performances have won:

References

  1. ^ William Forsythe at the Renaissance Society
  2. ^ Rockwell, John (4 May 2006). "Forsythe Company: Desire, Loss, Many Rooms and Catherine Deneuve". New York Times. Retrieved 1 July 2011. A review of Forsythe's Kammer/Kammer.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)

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