Acting

William Forsythe

Born December 30, 1949 · New York, New York, USA (age 76)

William Forsythe is a radical innovator in choreography and dance. For more than four decades, he has redefined the syntax and praxis of his field, exerting unparalleled influence on subsequent generations of artists. Over the course of his career, he has developed an extensive repertoire of groundbreaking ballet choreographies and experimental, non-proscenium-based dance-theater works, as well as…

Known For

Evidentia

Evidentia · 1995

In this experimental film conceived by Sylvie Guillem, the choreographers become dancers or photographers: William Forsythe dances a superb solo and Mats Ek films his brother and Sylvie Guillem in Smoke, an oniric and sensual duet.

Alignigung II

Alignigung II · 2017

MovieDocumentary

In a video installation distilled from a live performance that Forsythe choreographed and directed in 2016, dancers Rauf "Rubberlegz" Yasit and Riley Watts clasp and unclasp each other in complex configurations that make it difficult for the viewer to determine where one body ends and the other begins. This slow-motion physical and optical puzzle, which Forsythe calls an "entanglement", is a choreographic event from which the common elements typically associated with choreography—the structural development of time and space and the visual isolation of parts—have been subtracted. The complex "threading" of the dancers' bodies into their own negative spaces creates visual conundrums that defy the apparent logic of the situation. The title is a play on words that, like the human situation it describes, threads two languages together: the English word "align", which sounds like the German word "allein" (alone), is fused with the German word "Einigung" (agreement).

Filmography

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Evidentia

Evidentia · 1995

In this experimental film conceived by Sylvie Guillem, the choreographers become dancers or photographers: William Forsythe dances a superb solo and Mats Ek films his brother and Sylvie Guillem in Smoke, an oniric and sensual duet.

Dancer

Alignigung II

Alignigung II · 2017

MovieDocumentary

In a video installation distilled from a live performance that Forsythe choreographed and directed in 2016, dancers Rauf "Rubberlegz" Yasit and Riley Watts clasp and unclasp each other in complex configurations that make it difficult for the viewer to determine where one body ends and the other begins. This slow-motion physical and optical puzzle, which Forsythe calls an "entanglement", is a choreographic event from which the common elements typically associated with choreography—the structural development of time and space and the visual isolation of parts—have been subtracted. The complex "threading" of the dancers' bodies into their own negative spaces creates visual conundrums that defy the apparent logic of the situation. The title is a play on words that, like the human situation it describes, threads two languages together: the English word "align", which sounds like the German word "allein" (alone), is fused with the German word "Einigung" (agreement).

Director