“The rules are not stated anywhere. They do not have legal status. There is really no legal function to ballet.” This is quoted from Forsythe himself in an interview with John Tusa on BBC Radio 3 from Ballet Magazine.
http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_03/feb03/interview_bbc_forsythe.htm
Our generation is all about breaking rules. It is one of the best ways to expand our artistic ideas and boundaries and also for all of those who have come before us. William Forsythe is known from almost every review or writer that talks about him for "reforming classical ballet." Although, knowing this about him, they tend to all still feel that at the very end of the day it falls short and is too hard to fully define what he has done. I personally appreciate his work because of what he has done through his development of the ballet technique. Like I mentioned in a previous post on his style, he builds from a foundation of classical structure. He always stretches every principle and passes every boundary held in this concept of "classical ballet." Together with modern and classical forms, he melts them together forming his own artistic voice in style.
I not only respect William Forsythe for his creativity and "no rules" concept, but also for his intelligence. Everything has a meaning for him. There is always something to wrap our heads around when it comes to his philosophy and digging into the core of his work. I think that following the ideas of Rudolf Laban, Forsythe's root of movement is based upon a crystalline geometry of the body. Everything is just so absolutely intricate, and difficult to execute I would say. He uses this structure to to emphasize on points and planes in the body which initiate a wide range of movement. I would also like to add that he is so mathematically inclined and has some scientific definition for many things that he talks about in interviews; Very analytical. Physics, Math, and Philosophy make up the mind of Forsythe. One great example of this comes from a piece he made called "Nowhere and Everywhere At the Same time." The aesthetic of it reminds me of just these three things that describe him.
Link to "Nowhere and Everywhere..."
http://vimeo.com/32051973
Going along with what he has done to pass boundaries in classical ballet, he has also somewhat meshed the gender roles for dancers. He makes sure that there is an equal importance in both dancers (partnering) to simply execute the movement.
Another great accomplishment that Forsythe has contributed to the dance world was the development of the CD-ROM. It was in 1994 that he created a computer application called "Improvisational Technologies: A tool for the Analytical Dance Eye."
This CD-ROM is an awesome program that assists in creating new movements in improvisation. It has been used by professional companies, universities, conservatories and even architecture programs!
William Forsythe has done an amazing contribution to the art and has shown importance in his own individual pieces as well. He has redefined ballet in modernizing it, and also modernizing the ballerina!
On the other hand, looking at his work and at him, much of his stuff has it's own characteristics that sets him apart and gives him importance and value in the dance world.
Even though the whole purpose of post modern dance today is to break off entirely from classical techniques and ideas, I still feel that Forsythe goes beyond that and instead, picks selective rules to break and or expand on and even enhancing those broken rules that have already been broken. Looking at ballet, I personally see it as strict and at times redundant-but Forsythe expands and breaks this idea of ballet in my mind and and creates a beautiful modern form while continuing to keep some aspects of ballet such as pointe shoes and also the technicality.
There is no doubt that he has succeeded doing this today and continues to prove it well done by his work internationally.
