4 replies to this topic

[sandik]

A review in the Financial Time of a mixed rep show by the Vienna Opera Ballet  included mention of a "Slingerland pas de deux by William Forsythe.  It is apparently an excerpt from a larger ballet -- could someone here tell me what ballet it is taken from, and is the Slingerland of the title a reference to the Slingerland who worked with dyslexic children?


the review -- http://news.ft.com/s...p=1016625900929

[Mel Johnson]

Slingerland is a manufacturer of percussion instruments and guitars.  And there is also a Dutch bicycle manufacturer of that name.

And the ballet from which the pas de deux is excerpted is titled...wait for it..."Slingerland"!  It has music by Gavin Bryars and Thom Willems.

[sandik]

Many thanks for the information.  In another forum I read a negative review of a Forsythe work that claimed he seemed to be parodying people with learning disabilities -- the reviewer seemed offended by his style in general but I thought perhaps there was some connection.

[Mel Johnson]

Forsythe isn't everybody's cup of tea, and he also has a sometimes dada-like tendency toward titling his works.  He could just as easily have chosen "Slingerland" because he liked the sound of it! :shrug:

[sandik]

Mel Johnson, on Dec 2 2003, 12:27 PM, said:

he also has a sometimes dada-like tendency toward titling his works.

Very true!  I've liked the work I've seen, though, and am sorry that the municipal government in Frankfurt has sqeezed him out.