Internationally renowned dancer and choreographer William Forsythe has been appointed an A.D. White Professor-at-Large. His six-year term will extend through June 2015, according to the University.

Forsythe was born in Manhattan in 1949 and studied classical ballet and modern dance at Jacksonville University in Florida. He also trained at both the Joffrey Ballet and the School of American Ballet before dancing professionally with the Joffrey Ballet in 1970. Three years later, he joined the Stuttgart Ballet, where he delved into choreography and was ultimately named Resident Choreographer. He was appointed Artistic Director of the Frankfurt Ballet in 1984 and held the position for 20 years before forming his own dance company — The Forsythe Company — in 2004. His works have been performed around the globe by many renowned ballet companies, including The New York City Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, The Royal Ballet, Russia’s Kirov Ballet and Bolshoi Ballet.

Forsythe has been attributed with bringing classical ballet into the twenty-first century. The Goethe-Institut, Germany’s official cultural institution, included Forsythe in a review of 50 influential choreographers: “It would certainly not be wrong to call Forsythe a renewer, reformer of classical ballet. But a classification of this kind would be too constricting. A word from the Head of the Zurich Ballet, Heinz Spoerli, is probably most apt. [He] said that … Forsythe is ‘the man who brings the classical tradition closest to the nerve of the times.’”

In 1994, Forsythe released his “Improvisational Technologies: A Tool for the Analytical Dance Eye” — an interactive computer application featuring demonstrations of the critical principles of his technique that has since been used internationally by dance companies, conservatories and universities in the teaching of dance. Most recently, the Ohio State University collaborated with Forsythe for the 2009 release of “Synchronous Objects for One Flat Thing, reproduced” — an interactive website aimed at exploring the structure of dance using an interdisciplinary approach.

Byron Suber, senior lecturer in dance, expressed excitement over Forsythe’s appointment.

“I have been following his work for years and can’t imagine anyone else I would be more excited about having here. I see great potential for his engagement here ...”

Cornell currently has 17 A.D. White Professors-at-Large. Each of these professors visits campus at least twice during their term and hosts lectures, office hours and seminars for Cornell faculty and students. Past professors-at-large include British actor John Cleese, Nobel Prize winning novelist Toni Morrison and biologist Jane Goodall, who is known for her study of chimpanzees.