Born in New York in 1949, Forsythe is the formalist choreographer who has best updated and reshaped classical dance heritage, undermining all theatrical conventions. The relationship between soloists and corps de ballet becomes unpredictable; light reveals and conceals movement; choreography makes use of dancers’ entire bodies, ignoring the vertical plane typical in classical ballet and introducing a genre of imbalance that is nearly blasphemous. In four parts, Artifact revolver around three characters: a “woman in historical costume”, a “man with a megaphone”, and an imaginary “other”, all of whom move blithely among a numerous corps de ballet arranged in symmetrical lines. The Royal Ballet of Flanders, founded in 1969, is Belgium’s only classical dance company. In 2005 the company began incorporating some of William Forsythe’s most important choreografies. Impressing the Czar was performed at the 2007 edition of MITO SettembreMusica.