William Forsythe

Born in 1949, William Forsythe has been active in the field of choreography for over 50 years and is recognized as one of the world’s foremost choreographers. His three decades of work with his ensembles in Frankfurt is celebrated for reorienting the practice of ballet from its identification to classical repertoires into a dynamic 21st century art form.

Raised and principally trained in New York, he arrived on the European dance scene in his early 20s as a dancer and eventually as Resident Choreographer of Stuttgart Ballet. In 1984, he began a 20-year tenure as Director of Ballett Frankfurt, and, with an initial focus on the organizational underpinnings of academic ballet, has, since 1991, extended his choreographic discourse into the field of visual arts. While his work for the stage resides in the repertories of ensembles worldwide, his installations are featured internationally in both museums and private collections. In 2004, he established his own company, The Forsythe Company.

Forsythe has won several awards including a Bessie, Laurence Olivier Award, the German Distinguished Service Cross, the Wexner Prize, as well as the Golden Lion of the Venice Biennale and Der Faust, both for lifetime achievement. In 1999, William Forsythe was named Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Government of France. He has been chosen as Choreographer of the Year several times by the international critics’ survey.

William Forsythe has also been awarded an honorary fellowship from the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in London and holds an honorary doctorate from the Juilliard School in New York.