William Forsythe: A Quiet Evening of Dance

„Time and sensations: these are the materials I work with“, says William Forsythe, one of the most important choreographers of our era. „Some believe that choreography is not an art form, but rather a sort of entertaining spectacle involving dance... Should we really refuse it the opportunity to be an art form just because, until a certain point in time, that was the only way it was done? Or are we allowed to create new conceptions of choreography?“ Forsythe does not simply pose questions; he also knows the answers. He believes that „through the body, you can experience the reality and metaphorical power of various contexts“, and that „movement opens up access to various conceptual fields“. Audiences will find themselves convinced of this on 14 and 15 July, when the renowned contemporary choreographer’s A Quiet Evening of Dance will be performed on the Mikhailovsky Theatre stage as part of the 2019 Theatre Olympics and the Chekhov International Theatre Festival.

For this unusual programme, which brings together new and existing works by the choreographer, Forsythe has come up with something akin to a chamber music concert in terms of form. The works range from minimalistic analytical compositions to works of dance inspired by baroque music. „Ironic, emphatically prosaic, but in fact very complex in composition“ was the newspaper Kommersant’s impression of the cult choreographer. Forsythe has left his previous troupe, the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company (he now lives in Vermont), but his dancers have not left him. Seven of them, Forsythe’s devoted collaborators, will pose the audience a riddle: does contemporary dance contain more humour, more lyricism, or more advanced mathematics?