William Forsythe was born in New York in 1949. Forsythe began his dance training at the Joffrey Ballet School where he eventually worked his way up into Joffrey II and then the main company. Transferring to Europe, Forsythe joined the Stuttgart Ballet under the new direction of Marcia Hayde. Hayde encouraged Forsythe to choreograph for the company and he created some of his first major works along with making ties with big time European choreographers Pina Bausch and Jir Kylian. By 1980 Forsythe had decided to pursue an independent career choreographing. Forsythe created Gnge, Say Bye-Bye for Nederlands Dans Theater and was also invited to create a work he titled Dance/France for the Paris Opera Ballet and featured Sylvie Guillem at the start of her career. In 1984 Forsythe became the artistic director of the Frankfurt Ballet. At this time Forsythe's work continued to get recognition. The public considered his work provocative, intriguing, scandalizing, and major. Forsythe's ability to break down the classical ballet language and apply unheard of elements of disjointed time brought him to the forefront of dance. Forsythe continued to create new works for major ballet companies across the world including The Kirov Ballet, The New York City Ballet, The San Francisco Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, England’s Royal Ballet, and The Paris Opera Ballet. In 2004 after the end of the Frankfurt Ballet Forsythe sought out to create his own company where his work is now performed. In addition to his company Forsythe is also the co-director a teacher at Dance Apprentice Network aCross Europe (D.A.N.C.E.). Forsythe also has many achievements including multiple Bessie and Lawrence Oliviar Awards as well being an Honorary Fellow at the Laban Center for Movement and Dance in London holds a doctorate from Juilliard.
