After an intensive period of preparation, William Forsythe and his ballet company will start the 2004/2005 season on April 21st 2005 with a new choreography at the Bockenheimer Depot in Frankfurt am Main. With an innovative Public Private Partnership between the States of Hesse and Saxony, the Cities of Frankfurt am Main and Dresden as well as corporate sponsors and patrons, the sophisticated cultural program of The Forsythe Company can be put into place over the next five years in Germany.

„The cooperation between Dresden and Frankfurt am Main enabling the presentation of the outstanding work of William Forsythe and his company to ballet enthusiasts in both cities is probably unique in Germany. The fact that both the State of Saxony and the State of Hesse were instrumental in facilitating this makes me especially happy”, said Roland Koch, Minister President of the State of Hesse.

Saxony’s Minister President Prof. Dr. Georg Milbradt explained: „Saxony is a state of culture, which not only draws on the creative heritage and cultural treasures of the past; another major source of inspiration is contemporary art. Hellerau, with its Festspielhaus, represents this, as does William Forsythe. I am very much looking forward to seeing his work and wish him and his company good luck, good ideas and every success.“

Times of strained budgets and economic uncertainties require innovative initiatives and entrepreneurial visions. “The creation of the new Public Private Partnership between The Forsythe Company and the States of Hesse and Saxony, the Cities of Frankfurt and Dresden and a growing number of private sponsors has laid the foundation for the continuation of more than 20 years of William Forsythe’s groundbreaking work in dance and his contribution to the cultural landscape of Germany,” Dr. Claus Löwe, Chairman, Council of the Friends of The Forsythe Company e.V., said.

Petra Roth, Mayor of the City of Frankfurt, commented: „The choreographer William Forsythe, who has exerted an unparalleled influence on contemporary ballet over the past two decades, is back again. The choice of venue for the continuation of his work, that has already given ballet in Frankfurt a worldwide reputation, is the result of a fruitful partnership between the States of Saxony and Hesse and the Cities of Dresden and Frankfurt am Main.“

„Dresden looks forward to its partnership with The Forsythe Company and to many exquisite events at the restored Festspielhaus Hellerau, re-establishing it at last as a centre of modern dance worthy of the legacy of Mary Wigman and Gret Palluca“, said Ingolf Roßberg, Mayor of the City of Dresden.

The Festspielhaus Hellerau in Dresden and the Bockenheimer Depot in Frankfurt am Main are the two stages on which The Forsythe Company will be performing regularly. The construction works at the Festspielhaus Hellerau will be completed in summer 2006 and in the meantime the performances will be held at the Staats-schauspiel and at the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in Dresden.

In addition, The Forsythe Company will also perform internationally. During this season the Company will put on guest performances in Brussels, Montpellier and Aichi (Japan) as well as at various festivals in Venice, Avignon and Berlin.

William Forsythe said: „I would like to offer warm thanks to our public partners as well as to our corporate sponsors and patrons for making the substantial program of The Forsythe Company in Germany and abroad possible. I am very much looking forward to the reunion with the audience in Frankfurt am Main and to meeting the audience in Dresden.“

In June 2004 both States and both Cities committed themselves through a cooperation agreement to sponsor The Forsythe Company from 2005 to 2009 with a fixed yearly sum of a total of three million Euros. Furthermore, Frankfurt am Main and Dresden will make the Bockenheimer Depot and the Festspielhaus Hellerau available to the Company for certain periods of time.