Parisian theaters pay hommage this month to American choreographer Alwin Nikolais, who spent a large part of his creative life teaching and creating his unforgettable magical works in France until his death in 1993 joining the likes of Isadora Duncan in the Père Lachaise Cemetery.

The Théâtre de la Ville is hosting a special program of reconstructions directed by Nikolais’ lifelong partner Murray Louis and the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company. Nikolais, who had studied with pioneers Mary Wigman and Hanya Holm, was a visionary who sparked a visual revolution in dance in the ’50s. Following in the footsteps of Loie Fuller, and highly inspired by cinema, he developed a style of total dance theater, which blended movement, mime, acrobatics, optical illusion, bold lighting and his own musical scores, transforming dancers into flamboyant genderless creatures and kaleidoscopic human canvases. His compact works, void of emotion and narrative lines, are dense, vivid miniatures worked out to technical perfection (many of them as short as five minutes), that are as mesmerizing today as half a century ago.

The Théâtre de la Ville program proposed by Nikolais’ closest associates, Shirley Ririe and Joan Woodbury, who now devote one month of their Salt Lake City-based company’s annual programing to producing reconstructions, highlights seven classic works spanning five decades.

As an exciting special bonus event, free to the public, two lecture-demonstrations focusing on Nikolais’ teaching will be held before the Friday and Saturday performances, starring an impressive array of his former pupils such as Carolyn Carlson and Susan Buirge.

Alwin Nikolais / Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company Crucible (1985), Lythic (1956), Blank on Blank (1987), Tensile Involvement (1955), Noumenon Mobilis (1953), Mechanical Organ (1983), Finale (1983), Feb 24 to 28, 8:30pm — Le Prisme Nikolais (lecture-demonstration) Feb 27 at 5pm and Sat 28 at 3pm Théâtre de la Ville, 2 pl du Châtelet, 4e, Mº Châtelet RER A, B Châtelet-Les Halles, tel: 01 42 74 22 77