Matinee talk with William Forsythe at Deutsche Oper Berlin, 04. February 2024

[Sabine0308]

Next week, Staatsballett Berlin presents its premiere of a William Forsythe triple bill. Those pieces are:
-Approximate Sonata 2016 (staged 1996 for Ballett Frankfurt; Staatsballett Berlin performs the newer version from 2016 staged for Paris Opera Ballet)
 

-One Flat Thing, reproduced (staged 2000 for Ballett Frankfurt)
 

-Blake Works 1 (staged 2016 for Paris Opera Ballet)

So I took the chance to see this legend in person in a Matinee talk last Sunday. The Foyer of Deutsche Oper was packed, surprising all people on the small stage, it was a Sunday morning, after all.

 

It was a very entertaining talk, where the hosts Christian Spuck (AD) and Katja Wiegand (dramaturgy) asked some interesting questions and Spuck shared some memories from his earlier encounters wirh Forsythe during his days as dancer at Stuttgart Ballet.
Forsythe owned the talk, it was amusing to listen to his lengthy replies in a German/English mix and we even saw a lecture, performed live,  for Christian Spuck how to do a proper epaulement. 😁. Such elegant arms and hands, it was a joy to see. Spuck told us the story that he had been only THIRD cast in Stuttgart for a Forsythe piece, and Forsythe chimed in and said "but look where you are now"!

Forsythe also made us laugh when he suddenly admitted he had been irritated about Christian and Katja wearing the same earrings, until he realized that it was actually a microphone.

I took some notes during the talk, so here is a summary in no particular order, because William Forsythe danced around vividly in his memories and musings about his work:

He admitted that he often changes everything in a choreography after dress rehearsal. Sometimes dancers came in in the morning for warm up/rehearsal and didn't know that he had changed the choreo for the evening. So Spuck reminded him that in Berlin, after the General rehearsal, only 2 hours are left for some more stage rehearsal time (ends around 2pm, then the technical staff prepares the stage for an opera performance that night).

Forsythe already changed Approximate Sonata for Berlin because he wanted to use the great skills of every dancer.
 

About dancers:
Dancers are the most important, he never says this is wrong but asks instead "How could you dance this part faster?" It's a hard job so why make it harder. (What a great work ethics).
He also said that being a Choreographer means having a wonderful job. Everyone in the studio wants to be good, is willing to learn the piece and deliver a great performance.
A ballet company to him is not a company but an ensemble, not an organization but a living organism.
That's why he always strives to adapt a choreography according to the dancer chosen for a certain role. E.g. Herman Shmerman for Tiler Peck in NYCB.
He shared a (now) funny memory about staging this piece in New York:
The composer Thom Willems (he works since 1985 with  Forsythe, after he presented Forsythe a 6 hour long composition as a student in  The Hague back then) gave him the music on a cassette!!! before he got on the plane to New York. He said he listened to it on the flight and cried because he didn't know how he should memorize it for the next day for the rehearsals. Willems doesn't write a score!! If you are familiar with Willems' Works, the many layers in his electronic pieces where sounds meander, you understand his desperation.  But he made it!

Some personal information:
His Grandfather was an Austrian Concert master, who taught him playing violin, but told him also to let go of the violin and rather become conductor.

Forsythe says he prefers to work backstage or from the backrow in the stalls in all premieres (giving directions via microphone from the stalls about Sound, stage Settings, etc)  because then he is not afraid. Then he is part of the performance himself and has no time to be afraid.

Some more info on the music: often, he created his Choreography without the final music but presents the final music on a very short notice! The music is often mixed live backstage.

He completely changed Approximate Sonata for SBB, because of the great dancers.

He shared some thoughts about Blake Works: B. Millepied was still AD in Paris, the piece was commissioned but Millepied left. Dancers were like children who feel guilty about their parents' divorce, so he especially wanted to do a good job.
He had the French ballet style shown/explained to him for 3 weeks, by great ballet master Elisabeth Platel, then created the piece. Surprised everyone and people would say: oh Forsythe is doing ballet again!!!

Fun memory about a female dancer, rehearsing "One Flat thing" some years ago: she was so afraid of all the high-speed moves and work with partners and tables, she always wore a bike helmet during rehearsals.

 

He then also said that he loves to watch new dancers, choreographers etc on social media like Instagram and is somehow glad that isn't young anymore. Adores the new generations.

I look forward to the stage rehearsal next Tuesday, and then to the actual performance soon.

Edited February 9 by Sabine0308

[alison]

Thank you, Sabine, for that detailed report.

 

It's perhaps worth noting that Sadler's Wells is also scheduling some talks with various choreographers.

[alison]

On 09/02/2024 at 16:36, alison said:

It's perhaps worth noting that Sadler's Wells is also scheduling some talks with various choreographers.

 

Just been on the SW website: Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young, and Wayne McGregor, for a start.  Don't know if there are any others.

[Sabine0308]

I've been to a stage rehearsal yesterday for Blake Works 1, we saw 2 different casts. How interesting to have the direct comparison!! All dancers were full of energy and the interaction between them and W. Forsythe was friendly, attentive and full of mutual respect. Forsythe was also VERY patient and kind when the Tech guys failed to get the "light - then follows the music" routine again and again and again🙈. Well it was rehearsal.

Looking forward to the Premiere on Friday.