William Forsythe

William Forsythe began his distinguished professional career as an apprentice with the Joffrey Ballet in 1971, dancing with Joffrey Ballet II from 1971 to 1973. In 1973, he joined the Stuttgart Ballet and, encouraged by director Marcia Haydée, started his choreographic work. He created his inaugural piece, _Urlicht_, in 1976 and was appointed the Stuttgart’s resident choreographer the same year, simultaneously creating _Dream of Galilei_. Over the subsequent seven years, Forsythe produced numerous works for the Stuttgart Ensemble and other international ballet companies, premiering his first full-length ballet, _Orpheus_, in 1979.

He also pioneered _Improvisation Technologies_ (1994), a seminal computer application widely adopted for global dance education, followed by _Synchronous Objects_ (2009) and _Motion Bank_. He was chosen as founding Dance Mentor for The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative in 2002. From 2015 to 2021, Forsythe further extended his influence, serving as a Professor at the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and Artistic Advisor at its Choreographic Institute. During this period, he continued to create new ballets, including _Blake Works I_ (2016), ‘Playlist (Track 1,2)’ (2018), ‘A Quiet Evening of Dance’ (2018), ‘Playlist (EP)’ (2019), and ‘The Barre Project (Blake Works II)’ (2020).

Recognized globally for his pioneering work, Forsythe’s extensive accolades include multiple ‘Bessie’ Awards, Laurence Olivier Awards, the German Distinguished Service Cross (1997), and the Golden Lion of the Venice Biennale (2010) for Lifetime Achievement.