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Dancing in the Mind of a Madman
| Article
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18515 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
Date : |
4 / 1991 |
1,330 Words |
| Author
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Maya Wallach
Maya Wallach is a dance writer, critic, and photographer
currently based in Los Angeles |
American choreographer William Forsythe's work is as far removed from the world of classical dance as theoretical mathematics is from multiplication tables. Ignoring ballet's myriad complexities, Forsythe twists the two by two logic of classic dance into hitherto impossible combinations, challenging audiences to appreciate performance from dizzying new perspectives.
Forsythe's success has been as dizzying as his creativity. Born in New York 41 years ago, Forsythe danced for three years each with the Joffrey and Stuttgart ballets. The day after he premiered his first creation, in 1976, he became Stuttgart's resident choreographer. Appointed the director of the Frankfurt Ballet in 1984, Forsythe has created more than thirty-five dances, taking himself and his company into the international spotlight.
At a time when other ballet companies still rely on classic works like The Nutcracker and Swan Lake to sell seats, the Frankfurt Ballet with Forsythe's repertory regularly packs theaters with highly unconventional fare. Forsythe has also created singularly successful works on such companies as the New York City Ballet and Paris Opera Ballet, and Paris' Chatelet Theatre has recently offered itself--and been accepted--as the Frankfurt Ballet's second home.
Unsettling Look
Success has not tamed Forsythe's work. His two latest pieces, Limb's Theorem and Slingerland, are as unsettling as a look inside the mind of a madman, aptly demonstrating the extremes of what he calls dance.
Limb's Theorem, a full evening's worth of dance divided into three parts, was premiered by Forsythe's company in March 1990 in Frankfurt. The sets designed by Michael Simon, are immediately striking. The first part is overshadowed by an enormous wall that hangs over a quarter of the stage like a fallen roof, precariously balanced on one corner. In the second part a ten foot wall snakes cross the center of the stage. The third presents a positive constellation of objects: a high diagonal wall slices across the floor; a half-built satellite dish spins on the right; a long, low-slung girder sways overhead as the backdrop ripples.
After the impact of highly original sets, the spectator is next taken by the lighting, designed by Forsythe. In part one light seeps from under the stage's left-most wall, which slowly rises and sinks. In the second part a glaring light the size of a fourteen-inch
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