28, 29 Nov 2006. In Tent, Mechanical Organ, Noumenon and Tensile Involvement, choreography by Alwin Nikolais. The American choreographer, composer, and designer whose abstract dances combine motion with various technical effects and a complete freedom from technique and established patterns, is considered one of the great figures of the modern dance world and a pioneer of multimedia. Nikolais developed his own world of abstract dance theatre, portraying man as part of a total environment and he redefined dance, as the art of motion which, left on its own merits, becomes the message as well as the medium. Tensile Involvement in particular is especially representative; affectionately known as The Web, the work requires intense ensemble precision in order to achieve its stunning visual imagery and kinetic energy.