Forsythe finds ways to radiate importance both in his overall collection of contributions to the art as well as in individual pieces. He has undeniably contributed greatly to modernizing ballet, and some have attributed him with inventing the modern ballerina. Apart from this general reformation, many of his works have their own individual characteristics that set them apart and give them value. For instance, his piece Forehand utilizes silences throughout parts of the music to give the audience a self awareness. He searches to make various statements in his pieces also, such as the irony used to address Western civilization in Impressing the Czar.
Although much of modern dance is designed to depart entirely from classical techniques and ideas, Forsythe instead decides to break selective rules to expand upon and enhance them. Certain classical aspects are retained such as pointe shoes and elements of the ballet vocabulary, but he abandons many others in favor of modern ideas such as polycentrism and polyrhythm. His improvisation program has also been very beneficial to the dance world. While ballet is looked upon as a very strict and sometimes monotonous and restrictive form of dance, William Forsythe has managed to break all of the boundaries to expand the art. It is a wonderful example of the beauty being in the form, as he creates modern movement that has added some of the rules and features of ballet and has internationally succeeded in this development.
You mentioned earlier about Forsythe's opinion on lines. I believe this really helped because Forsythe dancers do have some of the greatest lines. His female dancers and also so stong and powerful, it is amazing to watch. This blog really shows how his work is breaking the divison between modern and ballet. Modern dancers can dance classical and traditional techniques, while ballerinas can dance more contemporary and it is alright.
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading this blog I am very intrigued by William Forsythe! As Abby stated, his work has broken the boundary between modern and ballet. I watched the clip you posted, "In The Middle, Somewhat Elevated." I love the intense music and the sharp, precise movements. Both dancers are equally powerful and the female dancer does not portray the classical ballerina. The lines in the piece were unbelievable and I loved how the dancers were connected and rebounding off each other the entire piece. It is evident that Forsythe had interest in science because the shapes in "In The Middle, Somewhat Elevated" are geometric and reminded me of chemical bonds. I am pleased in knowing that Forsythe created a new movement form from classical ballet with a twist of modern and abstracted movement.
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