Few choreographers have had such an impact on the ballet tradition as William Forsythe. From his early works deconstructing ballet technique, to his research and creation of the improvisation technologies to develop an analytical dance eye, to his choreographic objects that made choreography material, Forsythe has been more than influential in revolutionising how we think about dance. The foyer is packed and the air full of excitement as the Staatsballett honours the choreographer with a full evening and a selection of three works realised at different points in his career.
The journey through Forsythe’s choreographic career starts with Approximate Sonata (2016), almost a sonata. A sign saying ‘ja’ is suspended on an empty stage, the dancers, Michelle Willems and Matthew Knight, in black, have a quick, almost instinctive dialogue of arms and flicking wrists on the pulse of Thom Willems’ music. Premiered in 1996 and reworked in 2016, the dance is a clinical, almost cold yet ironic, deconstruction of ballet lines and partnering typical of Forsythe’s early years when no aspect of ballet was left unpicked.
With Forsythe, the dancers are no longer projection surfaces for the audience but embodied subjects with a very refined knowledge for whom he sets tasks and situations to solve. This makes the dance interesting for viewers but also allows the dancers to honour their training. The dancers’ presence is different from that in Petipa’s or Balanchine’s works. We are not drifting in and out of fairy-tale dreams nor watching perfect lines, rather we see them solving physical riddles: Balanchine’s quick attack and extended lines are coupled with intricate partnering of off-balance hyper-extended positions, and un-balletic movements. Open-ended, the dance closes on the last performer considering various possibilities of using her pointe shoes.
A further step away from ballet is One Flat Thing, Reproduced (2000). A clockwork dance for fourteen dancers and 20 tables, it lays bare dance structural intricacy from the point of view of movement phrases, cueing and direction of the movements (alignment). The dancers in rehearsal clothing run towards the audience dragging in the tables to then disappear. In groups, they approach with different movement sequences. The dancers push off, slide on, step onto and suspend from the tables allowing for unexpected moves: of the two dancers starting, one moves almost against gravity, as if rewinded. All different yet connected with few synchronous sequences, in this mix between parkour and Contact Improvisation, the dancers have additional surface space to execute the sequences — over the tables, under them or simply standing. Willems' music is ever-changing as the tracks are mixed and played on the spot so that the dancers cannot count on it to start their movements but rely on visual clues. Forsythe searched incessantly for alternative ways of documenting dance and the project Synchronous Object with Ohio State University is dedicated to this work.
After having been the artistic director of the Frankfurt Ballet for twenty years, and of the Forsythe Company for ten, since 2016 the tireless Forsythe has taught at the University of Southern California and has created only a few works such as Blake Works I (2016). Created for the Paris Opera Ballet, with music by James Blake, the work plays with the French ballet tradition resulting in a more playful outcome than Approximate Sonata. The dancers in blue skater dresses, t-shirts and trousers glide on stage in different formations, slightly reminding us of Balanchine’s American-inspired works.
If it were not for Blake’s voice on electronic music and the super-human speed (yes, faster than Balanchine), and almost unimaginable partnering sequences — a partner-sustained fall backward in battement devant followed by a step back into plié arabesque — it leaves you wondering if you had really seen what you have seen. One can also recognise quotations from several well-known ballets that the dancers perform smiling, in spite of the tempo. While watching a teasing Polina Semionova win an impromptu dance battle with lightning batterie, you realise, the smiles are not of circumstance, the dancers are really showing the best of themselves.
An art form is revolutionised once an artist reconsiders it at its philosophical core. If ballet is the visualisation of a certain aesthetic idea, Forsythe has brought a new way of thinking about it, putting the dancers, their experiences and their knowledge at the centre. In his works, the dancers invent. The audience witnesses the creation of the work, which is different at each iteration. This new aesthetic has now become a ‘classic’. Some even talk about the Forsythe phenomenon. I would argue though, that it is still relevant as the works still feel fresh.
