Nikolais, << NEE koh ly, >> Alwin (1912-1993), was an American choreographer (creator of dances). His works are clever combinations of human movement, costumes, lighting, props, and scenery. Nikolais designed such visual elements of a performance and also composed the music.
Nikolais’s dances do not tell a story. Instead, they consist of continually changing and unusual visual images. For example, in Masks, Props, and Mobiles (1953), the dancers are enveloped by elastic bags and thus become strange, humanlike shapes.
Nikolais was born in Southington, Connecticut. In the 1940’s, he studied with the German dancer Hanya Holm. From 1948 to 1970, he headed the dance department of the Henry Street Playhouse in New York City. About 1950, he formed his own dance company.
In 1989, Nikolais and dancer Murray Louis combined their dance companies to form Nikolais-Louis Dance. Nikolais’s major works include Kaleidoscope (1956), Totem (1960), Imago (1963), Triad (1976), and Crucible (1985).
