The history of Western ballet over the past 40 years can easily be divided into two chapters: the pre- and post-William Forsythe eras. In the early Eighties, the multitalented American-born dance-maker brought Postmodernism into ballet, challenging formulae and tenets that were 400 years old. His radical approach to the old art made some scream with horror. But it also injected new life into a languishing art.
Nothing escaped Forsythe’s radical but well thought-out approach. Body axis, symmetries, gravity and gravitas were questioned and reworked along with the many conventions and expectations that were central to both making and watching ballet. Crucial duets disappeared behind a wall, while curtains and lights went up and down in the most unexpected ways. Male and female dancers sported the same skirts and the same see-through tops, and props with little or no relevance to the choreographic action inspired often puzzling titles.
Forsythe and Ballett Frankfurt, which he directed for 40 years, became the ultimate point of reference in the history of new choreography; his once revolutionary art soon became the choreographic canon, and a much plagiarised one, too.
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