Say Bye-Bye | Rehersal

Photo: W.F.B.P. Zap (Leora Rosner)

Choreographer: William Forsythe

William Forsythe is the innovator of 20th-century dance.
He is considered a unique link between the world of classical ballet and contemporary dance. Although his works are certainly based on classical dance technique, they also offer a completely new idea of dance in which image, text and theatrical technique often play an essential role.

Forsythe was invited to Nederlands Dans Theater by Jiří Kylián in 1980 as guest choreographer and made 'Say bye-bye'. Kylián and Forsythe already knew each other from the Stuttgart Ballet, where they had both danced and taken their first steps as choreographers under the guidance of John Cranko. 'Say bye-bye' became a striking debut in which Forsythe set the tone for his later work. “A choreographer with a deafening presence”, some recall, “who for two months literally had the foundations of the NDT studio complex shaking.” For his music collage is indeed loud, as is his ballet 'Say bye-bye', which the world-renowned choreographer himself described as a theatre piece with dance.