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William Forsythe: Dancing in the Mind of a Madman
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18515 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
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4 / 1991 |
1,329 Words |
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Maya Wallach
Maya Wallach is a dance writer, critic, and photographer
currently based in Los Angeles |
American choreographer William Forsythe's work is as far removed from the world of classical dance as theoretical mathematics is from multiplication tables. Ignoring ballet's myriad complexities, Forsythe twists the two by two logic of classic dance into hitherto impossible combinations, challenging audiences to appreciate performance from dizzying new perspectives.
Forsythe's success has been as dizzying as his creativity. Born in New York 41 years ago, Forsythe danced for three years each with the Joffrey and Stuttgart ballets. The day after he premiered his first creation, in 1976, he became Stuttgart's resident choreographer. Appointed the director of the Frankfurt Ballet in 1984, Forsythe has created more than thirty-five dances, taking himself and his company into the international spotlight.
At a time when other ballet companies still rely on classic works like The Nutcracker and Swan Lake to sell seats, the Frankfurt Ballet with Forsythe's repertory regularly packs theaters with highly unconventional fare. Forsythe has also created singularly successful works on such companies as the New York City Ballet and Paris Opera Ballet, and Paris' Chatelet Theatre has recently offered itself--and been accepted--as the Frankfurt Ballet's second home.
Unsettling Look
Success has not tamed Forsythe's work. His two latest pieces, Limb's Theorem and Slingerland, are as unsettling as a look inside the mind of a madman, aptly demonstrating the extremes of what he calls
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