NOBA and NOCCA Present Nikolais Centennial, 11/19-20

The New Orleans Ballet Association and The NOCCA Institute join in the international celebration of the centennial of a trailblazing choreographer and the father of multi-media dance theatre in the Alwin Nikolais Centennial on November 19 and 20 in three performances at NOCCA's Freda Lupin MemoriAl Hall. Co-presented by the New Orleans Ballet Association and The NOCCA Institute, the event features a program by one of the most versatile, innovative and influential artists of the twentieth century, performed by Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company with a special guest appearance by Tulane University's Newcomb Dance Company.
 
"We are privileged to be a part of this community-wide collaboration that honors such a revolutionary artist." said Jenny Hamilton, Executive Director of the New Orleans Ballet Association. "This project is the perfect opportunity for us to work with Tulane University's Department of Theater and Dance, who have provided constant support of our programming for decades. Following Katrina when the Mahalia Jackson Theater was not available, they generously and without hesitation opened the doors of Dixon Hall and made it possible for NOBA to continue our Main Stage Season. We are indeed honored to partner with two of the communities most esteemed organizations as we pay tribute to one of America's true dance masters."
 
Under the direction of Murray Louis and Alberto Del Saz, Artistic Director of the Nikolais Louis Foundation for Dance, Ririe-Woodbury will perform five legendary masterworks by this pioneer of modern dance. A forerunner of such popular companies as Pilobolus and Momix, Nikolais was known for his startling imagination, bold originality, legendary choreography, and groundbreaking use of multi-media effects. His work focuses on visual illusion, and lights, props and sound are equally as important as the dancers. Nikolais was the first to create a total dance theatre, composing his own music, inventing the costumes, and experimenting with imaginative lighting effects. In a career that spanned five decades, he left his imprint on every theatrical medium, from Broadway to television. His lighting creations, sound scores, choreography, and costumes have influenced the Contemporary Stage and a generation of choreographers. "The testament to a true artist and genius is that his work is always current and contemporary," said Del Saz. "Nikolais' work is as relevant today as it was 60 years ago. His dances really are master works."
 
Included in the program is the world premiere of the restored mix-media spectacle Temple (1974), made possible through a nationally competitive grant process of the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces.  "We try to bring in new pieces every year, and Temple made sense because it had the look we needed to balance things out and show the true range of Nikolais's work," said Del Saz. "There are some amazing multi-media pieces, such as Water Studies and Crucible, on the program, but Temple has a much simpler structure.  It's about the use of movement and variation and the relation to the music.  The purity of movement and interplay of shapes and colors enhances the use of the costumes."
 
In addition, special guest dancers from the Newcomb Dance Company will perform Water Studies (1964), which has been recreated for this student company as part of a residency activity this fall under the direction of Del Saz, who was also a long-time soloist with the Nikolais Dance Theatre.  Because of his intimate knowledge of Nikolais technique, theory and choreography, Del Saz brings first-hand knowledge to Newcomb Dance Company students through master classes and intensive rehearsal process. "This project is special because it allows our students to be part of this once in a lifetime celebration and to have the rare opportunity to study, learn and perform the choreography of Nikolais." said Professor Barbara Hayley, Newcomb Dance Program, Tulane University Department of Theatre and Dance. "We are honored to perform work by modern dance legend, Alwin Nikolais, to work with Alberto Del Saz for the reconstruction of Nik's work, and to dance with the Ririe-Woodbury Company."
 
In Water Studies, Nikolais transforms an empty space by using the costume material as a canvas for the light, which features slide images emitted by a combination of 8 projectors. According to Del Saz, Nikolais spent countless hours and dozens of techniques to create hand-painted slides for his works, and between four-thousand and five-thousand slides, which are still being used today, were created. In addition, most of the works employ between 10 and 12 projectors at one time, which, when combined with the hand-painted slides, lend a certain aesthetic to Nikolais' vision of dance. "The dancers become a vehicle for his shapes, and the beauty of his work is that very bright moment...that very organic point of view," said Del Saz.  
 
Ririe-Woodbury will also perform Tensile Involvement (1955), one of Nikolais' best-known pieces, featuring dancers tethered to long elastic bands, which create a cat's cradle of crisscrossing lines as they run on and off the stage.  First performed at the Henry Street Playhouse in New York City in 1953, Tensile Involvment was one of Nikolais' first major works and gave America's modern dance a totally new look.  It has since become a classic and continues enchanting audiences around the world, having recently been featured in the opening sequence of Robert Altman's ballet film, The Company (2003).
 
Other works on the program include Crucible (1985), Liturgies (1983), and Neumenon (1953). Crucible, a Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award winner, is actually Del Saz's favorite Nikolais piece because it was the first dance the legendary choreographer set on him when he joined the company. In the work, the hands, arms and legs of ten dancers are reflected by angled mirrors to create abstract forms and doubled reflections. Liturgies features one dancer as a menacing Sorcerer who uncovers the frailties of humankind, while another moves carefully, giving clarity to the quickest of movements.  Finally, in Noumenon, three dancers' bodies are encased from head to toe in stretchable fabric, transforming them from one surreal figure into another.
 
"It's always a pleasure to work on projects with community partners like NOBA, but this is an especially good match," said The NOCCA Institute's Executive Director, Sally Perry. "Dance residencies give NOCCA students the opportunity to work with some of today's most accomplished artists; this goes one step further, incorporating decades of crucial history and giving NOCCA students an added sense of where they fit in the ever-evolving field of dance."
 
According to The Dance Insider, "The Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company has not only delivered Nikolais intact, but sends a dispatch, if you will, from a more contemporary American dance community that is ready to thrill and delight."
 
Directed by Joann Woodbury and Shirley Ririe, the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company is a professional company based in Utah and was selected in 2002 to preserve and present Nikolais' repertoire that spans over sixty years.  All of the pieces are meticulously staged by Del Saz and Nikolais' former partner Murray Louis.
 
In 1949, Nikolais founded The Playhouse Dance Company at the Henry St. Settlement Playhouse on the lower east side of Manhattan. His work has been celebrated around the world, and his company, the Nikolais Dance Theatre, continued to perform for many years until his partner, Murray Louis, disbanded the troupe in 1999, six years after Nikolais' death.
 
Limited tickets are available for the Saturday performances.  The Friday and Saturday evening performances begin at 8pm; the Saturday matinee performance begins at 2pm.  For tickets or information, call the New Orleans Ballet Association Box Office at (504) 522-0996 or visit www.nobadance.com.