 After moving to New York, Wilson found himself drawn to the work of pioneering choreographers George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, and Martha Graham, among others.In 1968, he founded an experimental performance company, the Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds (named for a teacher who helped him overcome a severe stutter while a teenager).With this company, he directed his first major works, beginning with 1969's "The King of Spain" and "The Life and Times of Sigmund Freud".