William Forsythe

Abstract William Forsythe questions the nature of dance and ways of thinking about choreography. Searching to bring ballet’s past into a new, and sometimes strange, present, he scrutinizes classically ordered systems. He initiates processes of deconstruction that enable the body to move into multiple kinespheres, linking his findings to improvisation strategies that change the bodily architecture. Thus distinctions blur between the dance’s outer appearance and the dancers’ inner awareness. In this chapter, Forsythe’s direction of the Ballett Frankfurt, and before that as a choreographer with the Stuttgart Ballet, is explored. The concept of the Forsythescape is introduced as a metaphor for a choreographic landscape that draws on different styles, identities, and social/cultural approaches. Focus turns to Artifact and Eidos:Telos, two long works of labyrinthine complexity. They change entrenched habits of looking at dance—and help to explain why the American Forsythe is renowned across the globe.