Boston Ballet recently announced a five-year partnership with the iconic choreographer William Forsythe, with an agreement to add one of his works to its repertoire each year, as well as performing four of his ballets already in the company repertory. This coup for the American company will see Forsythe work closely with the dancers, now he no longer runs his own company. The first work to be acquired is Forsythe’s Artifact, which will be performed in spring next year at the Boston Opera House.
Forsythe is currently the associate choreographer at Paris Opera Ballet, with the aim to leave the position when Benjamin Millepied, the current director of dance, steps down in the summer. Forsythe also holds the position of professor of dance at the University of Southern California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, spreading his influence far across the dance industry. As a choreographer Forsythe’s work is held in high regard, an important modern artist and a profound voice, in dance across the world.
The partnership may see new work created by Forsythe for the company, providing him with the space to develop new ideas and concepts for the dancers. Whilst the works that will enter the company’s repertory after Artifact are still unknown, it has been suggested that the artistic director of Boston Ballet hopes to acquire pieces that are less well-known to North American audiences.
The opportunity for the classical dancers to work with and experience Forsythe’s choreography is a great one, developing the dancers’ capacity and opening their visions to new works. While Forsythe’s style is currently unknown to the ballet dancers, they will begin workshops with a former member of Forsythe’s company – and currently the director of the dance programme at Harvard – Jill Johnson, so the dancers can get used to his working methods.