Nikolais Dance by Ririe-Woodbury Dance Co.

Alwin Nikolais, presented by Ririe-Woodbury Dance Co., Thu., March 6, 7:30 p.m.; Fri., March 7, 8 p.m.; Sat., March 8, 2 and 8 p.m.; $32-$46, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut St., 215-898-3900, pennpresents.org.

by Janet Anderson

dance

(CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Alwin Nikolais, acclaimed American multimedia choreographer, is being fêted as part of Dance Celebration's Pioneers and Innovators of Contemporary Dance season at the Annenberg. "Nikolais Dance represents a special moment in time," says Randy Swartz, Dance Celebration's artistic director. "Back in his heyday of the late 1960s, everything he did was considered very avant-garde. Today, audiences tend to see it as nostalgic."

It's been rare to see Nikolais' work: After Nikolais' death in 1993, dancer Murray Louis struggled to keep the work onstage but ultimately passed on the legacy to Ririe-Woodbury Dance Co., a small modern dance troupe in Utah.

Both Pilobolus and Momix dance companies are indebted to Nikolais: His concept of stage space was that of a visual artist — the stage was his canvas. As a choreographer/stage magician, Nikolais was interested in the total effect; his dancers were simply one element. In a nice piece of serendipity, Nikolais' troupe performed in Dance Celebration's very first season at the Annenberg back in 1982. Twenty-six years later, the work is back, although the master is gone.

Alwin Nikolais, presented by Ririe-Woodbury Dance Co., Thu., March 6, 7:30 p.m.; Fri., March 7, 8 p.m.; Sat., March 8, 2 and 8 p.m.; $32-$46, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut St., 215-898-3900, pennpresents.org.