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.
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.
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 30th, 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.
