Alwin Nikolais, the pioneer of multimedia dance who was often called a Renaissance man, a one-man band and even a P.T. Barnum for his solo choreographing, costuming and composing of strikingly innovative shows over half a century, has died. He was 82.
Nikolais, described by Los Angeles Times music and dance critic Martin Bernheimer as a genius, died Saturday in New York of cancer.
The former puppeteer who played piano for silent movies in his native Southington, Conn., sprang his first multimedia show, "Masks, Props and Mobiles," on an unsuspecting New York audience in 1953.
Nikolais not only created the movements of his dancers and composed the electronic music to which they moved, but also designed the lighting, scenery and costumes. He experimented with slide projectors and film, and magically made dancers change in appearance as they moved. As he demonstrated in "Structures," he could even make packing cases skitter across the floor with no evidence of human assistance.
I really agree that "Alwin Nikolais is the modern dance pioneer". When I saw the Nikolais's performance,I usually find some differentiation differ from other dancers' performance. Such as the techniques,it attracted me when I first saw the Nikolais's performance,he used the strings to perform dance.It really surprised me.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with you. In my opinion, he pioneered a form of multimedia dance and a novel approach to dance training that gave him access to the creative and improvisational abilities of dancers. As a whole, I like his ways to perform because it is novel and unique.
ReplyDeletei agree with you all, his dance style is so creative. the pictures of his dance performance are very different from the other dances' performance. it is what binghan luo says, it is novel and unique.
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