He is what dance is today

William Forsythe has been such a pleasure to research and discover! I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to dive into his world. As a dancer and choreographer I have been truly touched. His views and systems on improvisation and how the body can react and relate to space have inspired me greatly. He is such a huge part of today’s dance scene, and what dance is today. He is current, and it is vital for us (dancer’s and people apart of the dance world) to witness and learn from this great innovator. He is what’s happening in today’s dance, and what the future of dance looks like. Either through his technique, views of movement, tools, or through his imagination and choreography we can all learn or be inspired by this great and important mover. He is a true artist, exploring many genres of artistic expression including his great installation pieces. I’m so thrilled to have had to study and research Forsythe, and am even more excited to see him and what comes from him in the future.

From: William To: Dance

William Forsythe’s greatest contributions to the dance field would be mainly from his choreography and choreographic systems that he’s developed. The way he views choreography as an organization mechanism and thinks of this in choreography aside from dance. William see’s everything as choreography and with that believes everything can be an organized structure. He has always seen himself as a problem solver and says there is a structure to figuring any problem out. William has also said that he understands philosophy, mathematics, and architecture through dance and understanding movement. His choreographic approach and intent really reflects this. His concepts and systems of choreography have really made him a very distinct choreographer. His concept of a body moving in terms of creating movement, like his folding and unfolding of the body, how the body relates to space, and using ballet as a vocabulary to build from. These concepts that he’s created have led to the creations of some of the most important contributions of his career and also to the field of dance. His system of ways to connect or relate the body to space with lines, points, relationships, and possibilities through improvisation called Improvisation Technologies: A Tool for Analytical Dance Eye is used by many schools and companies world wide. Synchronized Objects for One Flat Thing, reproduced is a system that breaks down or can alter the structure of something, choreographically, or for data, or even objects; this can be found online. He founded the European program D.A.N.C.E. which takes students to experience all different types of dance and choreographers. In 2010, he launched a four year project with his company to further his research in choreography and to also publicize on-line digital scores. His choreographic developments would be the biggest contribution, if not the most important contribution to the field of dance from William Forsythe.

The Bigger Picture

To talk about what was going on around the world that could have been significant to William Forsythe and his work, I would like to focus on a specific time frame; 1980 till now, because he is still producing work.  There were a few importances’ to mention before this time frame however, that need to be mentioned. During the time William was in high school, there were a lot of dance crazes going on in the mid 1960’s; “the twist,” “the swim,” and the “mashed potato,” in which Forsythe won a high school dance-off with. American band stand was very popular during this time as well. These were Forsythe’s first experiments with moving and dancing. Also during the 60’s was a lot of protesting and need for change, with John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King.  William experienced this while he was in high school and is also experiencing it now.  In the 1970’s William was in college, briefly joined the Joffery Ballet, and then joined the Stuttgart Ballet and also start choreographing for the Stuttgart Ballet. The Vietnam War came to a close, the Feminist movement was in full effect, and the great Mikhail Baryshnikov was in the height of fame. In 1981, William left the Stuttgart ballet to travel around the world and choreograph for many schools and companies. What happened during this time in the world is the most important because the work that William produced during this time and till now is the work that that influenced the dance world the most. In 1981 the first personal computer was introduced. William has made some very important contributions through the computer and technologies such as the computer program Improvisation Technologies: A Tool for the Analytical Dance Eye. 1981 the epidemic known as AIDS was very prevalent in society. In 1989 the Berlin wall falls, William Forsythe is living in Germany off and on during this time. Throughout the 1980’s some great work came from major choreographers such as Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, and Mark Morris. In 1990 the World Wide Web is created and the unification between east and West Germany happens. The rise of technologies begins with the start of DVD’s, cell phones, and many versions of computers and computer programs. In 2001 the 9/11 attacks occur and the War on Terrorism happens.  William Forsythe was in and out of New York at this time and felt the effects of this time with a lot of other choreographers and dancers in New York. William starts his own company in Germany in 2004. During this time Germany recently makes a currency switch to the Euro. In 2005 women start making a political impact on German society with is Angela Merkel becoming the first woman chancellor. In 2008 a great financial crises occurs putting Germany in a recession, for only a year. Most recently in January of 2011, the economy is at its highest it’s ever been.  This is all great news for the art’s supporters and contributors like William Forsythe.

Important and Interesting!

For everything William Forsythe check out this site! It’s got anything he’s done or doing now, news about him, an essay he wrote, his company website, more installation works, and more. It also has his creation “Synchronous Objects, for One Flat Thing, reproduced” which is a system for people to view choreographic structure and his tools for choreographing, not only for dance. William Forsythe uses his tools for choreography in researching and other interests. He believes there is a structure to figuring any problem out. There is also a piece dedicated to this idea which you can view in the first video posted. The first link posted here is the site for all of William Forsythes work and the one below it is the Synchronous Objects, for One Flat Thing, reproduced, made in 2000 along with Maria Palazzi and Norah Zuniga Shaw. Below those are some video’s of other very interesting works he’s created including a solo by a William Forsythe dancer in which you can see the points and lines connecting the body and space superimposed on the video, and two of his installation pieces.

http://www.williamforsythe.de/williamforsythe.html 

Synchronous Objects, for One Flat Thing, reproduced:

http://synchronousobjects.osu.edu/content.html# 

One Flat Thing, reproduced:

Solo by William Forsythe dancer:

I Don't Believe In Outer Space:

Scattered Crowds:

Fact of Matter:

Professional Lineage

William Forsythe calls himself a problem solver, a realist, and finds that the discoveries along the way in his choreographic process are more affective in his work than a plan. This is true throughout his life. Many people and places have made an impression on William Forsyth’s life and work. For starters, his early appreciation for the Great Fred Astaire. This was his first glimpse into the world of dance, and also inspired him to get involved with musicals in high school. This led him to Jacksonville University where he studied under Nolan Dingman, a George Balanchine Company member, which is whom he received his first ballet training from. William Forsythe uses ballet as a base or as a communication skill within his choreography, and Nolan Dingman played on early role in that. He also studied under Christa Long who gave him his first experiences and tools in choreography. She told him that he would go on to be a choreographer. This would serve to be a big “aha” moment for William. He went on to work with the Stuttgart ballet where he developed his unique eye for movement and started using choreography as an “organization mechanism.” At this time he worked with Glen Tetaly at the Stuttgart ballet (between 74-76) who left his mark on Forsythe by saying “there are no rules.” This is also where he learned the lesson in people’s judgment of things out of the norm. He became resident choreographer of the Stuttgart ballet and after 5 yeas the school felt he was pushing the limits of choreographing for a ballet company. He was also asked to choreograph in a more “classical” style. Needless to say, he left. After his time with the Stuttgart ballet he became a free lance choreographer and traveled all around the world. This had a huge impact on who he is as a person and choreographer. Seeing all of the architecture (which is a big interest and hobby of his), the people, and the different culture “molded” him. Germany, especially, he felt a connection to the space in Germany and all that is in the space, which is where his family, company, and himself resides. “Gange” (a piece about ballet, made in 1983), was a big break-out piece for William, it let to lots of controversy and publicity. Also, “Impressing the Czar” and "In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated" in 2004 were huge hits amongst the ballet world and led him to travel and set the piece's on many ballet companies.
One of his biggest and possibly most important inspirations, or “a-ha” moments happened in 1994, and led to his creation of Improvisation Technologies: A Tool for the Analytical Dance Eye. He had a conversation with a colleague Paul Kaiser in which he tried to explain how he makes dances by drawing shapes and tracing the air. Paul suggested he use a type of computer technology to superimpose the geometric shapes and lines in space on videos of himself demonstrating them. This series can be seen on-line and William uses the system in almost all of his work. This was probably the biggest impact on his work and choreography. There are so many influences, “a-ha” moments, and important impacts that have shaped William Forsythe as a person and an artist, these are just a few.

Here is a link to the Improvisation Technologies: A Tool for the Analytical Dance Eye, the series on youtube and the second link posted here is the interview between Paul Keiser and William Forsythe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsRnVW96KN8

http://openendedgroup.com/index.php/publications/conversations/forsythe/

Who is William Forsythe?

Dancer, Choreographer, Artist, Inventor, and Innovator William Forsythe is a man of his time.  He is a unique artist, beautiful choreographer, and eager to travel to the very ends of possibilities in the dance world.  Armed with a ballet technique and a ballet base to his work along with a collection of today’s technologies he produces work and even reinvents how we create work. William Forsythe was born on December 30^th, 1949 in New York City, the place to discover modern dance at that time. As a child William was inspired by the great Fred Astaire which eventually led him to take part in musicals in high school. It wasn’t until he enrolled in Jacksonville University in Florida that he took his first classical ballet and modern classes. He then went on to dance at the Joffery Ballet on scholarship and the School of American Ballet. He joined the Joffrey Ballet briefly in 1971 but was then invited by John Cranko in 1974 to join the Stuttgart Ballet. There, he would create his first piece "Urlicht" in 1976 for the ballet’s showcase, and soon became the resident choreographer of the ensemble till 1981. After working with the Stuttgart Ballet he made a name for himself by becoming  a freelance choreographer and traveling all over in places like Munich, London, Berlin, Paris, New York, and San Francisco. He believed that dance was a series of folding and unfolding of the body and believed he could break choreography into his own system. With his unique spin of ballet and modern concepts he created works such as “Artifact,” “Impressing the Czar,” “Limbs Theorem,” “Alien Action,” and “Gange (A Piece about Ballet)” from which he became ballet director of the Frankfurt State Theatre from 1984 till 2004. Within this time he pioneered the first computer application Improvisation Technologies: A Tool for the Analytical Dance Eye, which dealt with his idea of finding a system in which choreography can be broken down to elements. In this time he also produced a short film entitled “Solo” and also produced many installation pieces.

Then, in 2004 he started his own Company, The Forsythe Company in Frankfurt am Main and produced pieces such as “Human Writes,” “Yes we can’t,” and ”One Flat Thing reproduced. His pieces have been shown in the Louvre Museum, Artangel in London, Creative Time in New York, and the Renaissance Society in Chicago.  In 2009 he launched his interactive web project in collaboration with the Ohio State University called Synchronous Objects for One Flat Thing which delves into the insight of the process and structure of choreography. He continues to teach in workshops and lectures all over and co-directs the Dance Apprentice Network Access Europe program (D.A.N.C.E.). He has won many awards including Honorary Fellowship from the Laban Centre, Honorary doctorate from Julliard School, Choreographer of the year (several times), the Nijinsky Award, the Laurence Oliver Award, and many Bessie’s. With William Forsythe’s unique approach to choreography and artistic ability to involve many genres of art, he has made his presence known in the dance world.

Me...

To answer the question of who I am, I suppose I first have to break down the many roles I play in my life. To label a few, I am a daughter with a very close relationship to my parents, I am a big sister to my two younger brothers,  I’m a goddaughter to my awesome wonderful God-mom Mary, I’m a girlfriend to Josh, I’m a friend to many, I’m a dancer, I’m a student, I’m a cat lover, I’m a waitress, I’m a vegetarian, I’m an arts supporter, and I live by the quote “be the change you want to see in the world.” I was blessed with a very artistic family who constantly encouraged and supported artistic expression and practice. I am just one artist from a large artistic family, my grandma was a dancer who raised my dad and aunts and uncles around dance and music, my dad being a musician and my mom being an artist, me and my brothers were brought up with an acceptance and huge encouragement to find and pursue our artistic voices, I learned from an early age how important art, particularly dance is to me. In 6th grade we moved from California to Milwaukee  where I went to Roosevelt Middle school of the Arts and started to become a lot more serious about dance, and then High School of the Arts where I took my forever dream of becoming a dancer and decided on pursuing to make it a reality. Which is where I’m still at currently, just with a different approach and education of what dance is and how it relates to me. What I’ve gained from this program was a total self alternation, in the way I approach my life and my dancing.  Dance and my dance education is a huge part of my life and is a constant influence and the biggest influence. Its in everything I do, the way I am/ move at work, everything and everyone I look at I can almost always find the essence of dance or inspiration, who I surround my self with, what I see as far as entertainment is usually dance related. So, dance is definitely a huge influence on my life and I hope it is for a long time. I hope to graduate in a year and a half with a dance degree and a minor in either Somatics or Italian, I hope to have a career in a company anywhere. I definitely want to live in and experience another city. At some point in my life, my goal is to some how get involved with helping keep art in schools and education, I really believe as developing youth it is very important to incorporate the arts into their education. A big goal is to travel and see as many countries, experience lots of cultures, and hopefully dance somewhere abroad.  So another goal is to save up as much money as I can. I want to be dancing for as long as I’m able.  Dance has given me an area to find, explore, and develop myself and the person I am, it is the backbone to my life. Its also valuable to me because of the benefits of keeping my body healthy and consciously aware. I feel so lucky to have something that I can be educated in and be so passionate about. Dance is a little world with it’s own history, its a lifestyle, and even a mindset that I can say I'm honestly obsessed with.