‘Chrystal and Sphere’ Aims to Spark Children’s Imagination at O.C. Festival

“Children are very honest audiences, you know,” says Alwin Nikolais, 79-year-old founder of Nikolais and Louis Dance. “If they don’t like something, then-- ai yai yai --you’re going to get it!”

Nikolais should know. It was 1937 when the protege of Hanya Holm, one of the mothers of modern dance, began teaching and choreographing for youngsters in Hartford, Conn. His latest work, “The Chrystal and the Sphere,” was commissioned this year especially for children as part of Imagination Celebration, a nationwide children’s arts festival initiated in 1977 by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to spark arts awareness among young people. More than 6,000 Orange County students and their teachers will be treated to free performances of “The Chrystal and the Sphere” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center as a highlight of the fifth annual Imagination Celebration. Locally sponsored by the Center and the Orange County Department of Education, the countywide festival of exhibits, performances and workshops runs Saturday through April 29 and is expected to reach 80,000 children and their families.

The festival is one of 12 celebrations scheduled in the United States and abroad aimed at helping schools, community groups and art institutions develop the role of art and creativity in education.

“The Chrystal and the Sphere” seems to fill the Imagination Celebration mandate, encouraging children to stretch their imaginations with fantastic tales from outer space.

The title of the 45-minute work names two central “characters.” The 12-foot-high lucite “chrystal” and the “sphere,” a 23-foot-high weather balloon, face off at diagonals on stage. Five dancers who form Nikolais Imagination Dance, a separate troupe Nikolais created specifically for Imagination Celebration performances, move through a series of nine vignettes costumed as, among other things: “ducky-like creatures who seem to have come from an Easter celebration on Mars,” as “chess pieces that seem to float,” and as the Nikolais trademark “sack.” Dancers appear and disappear in black-light costumes as slide projections texture the stage with color and patterns.

As usual, wizard showman Nikolais designed not only the movement on stage, but the lights, sets, costumes and sound. The otherworldly look that is now familiar to modern-dance lovers appalled Nikolais’ early critics, who found his work to be sterile and inhuman. But the layers of dance, drama, puppetry and costume and scenic design created a new performance genre that Nikolais dubbed “dance-theater.”

Nikolais fans will recognize that “The Chrystal and the Sphere” employs some pieces drawn from earlier works (“Totem,” “Vaudeville”) but the choreographer says he had his new audience in mind when he designed “The Chrystal and the Sphere.”

“I know children are amused by certain things, certain strange movements and strange sounds delight them. Color appeals to them. If you get all three going at once, things really pop,” said Nikolais, who received the 1987 National Medal of the Arts and is a two-time Guggenheim Fellow.

Whether choreographing for an audience of Martha Graham graduates or fourth-graders from Montevideo Elementary School in Mission Viejo, Nikolais asks certain things of his work.

“What does it do to their minds? Does it give them the freedom of imagination? And if it doesn’t, then you’ve failed. . . . At least speaking for myself, the imagination is what makes you discover, tick, become curious, become inventive and become really intelligent about humanism.”

This is exactly what Center President Thomas R. Kendrick, and other event organizers like to hear.

“In this television age, live performance arts are something that, because of (budget) cutbacks in the school system, very few children get a chance to see,” Kendrick said. “We believe that all children should have the opportunity to enjoy the arts and that the arts have a powerful impact on their imagination. That’s why it’s called the Imagination Celebration.”

About 30 Orange County arts and cultural organizations and dozens of student performing groups are participating in the festival this year. Free events will be held at institutions including the Bowers Museum, the Newport Harbor Art Museum and the Muckenthaler Cultural Center, as well as county schools, libraries and shopping malls.

Highlights include:

* The “Very Special Arts Festival” kicks off the celebration Saturday with Scottish jigs, sand painting and an exhibit of works from more than 1,500 disabled students celebrating the art and performance of disabled students. A parade of hats will cap a day of workshops, performances and demonstrations. MainPlace, 2800 N. Main St., Santa Ana, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free.

* The Imaginarium transforms the grounds of the Orange County Performing Arts Center into an “arts playground.” Enjoy mime, juggling, poetry reading, Chinese dancing, art demonstrations and hands-on workshops presented by professional artists and children’s organizations. Food and refreshments available. April 28, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free.

* “Sesame Street” star Bob McGrath makes his first appearance at the festival in the celebration’s finale with two family pops concerts at Segerstrom Hall. Forty young showstoppers chosen from Orange County performing-arts classes will help McGrath with a program that includes favorite songs from the children’s show and storytelling. April 29, Segerstrom Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center. 1 p.m., 4 p.m.

The following is a list of all public events for the 1990 Imagination Celebration. For more information on any events, call (714) 556-2787, Ext. 885.

SATURDAY, APRIL 21

The “Very Special Arts Festival.” MainPlace, 2800 N. Main St. Santa Ana, 11 a.m.to 5 p.m. Free.

Imagination Celebration at Mission Viejo Mall. 27000 Crown Valley Parkway, Mission Viejo, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free. A full day of performances by student bands, choirs and theater groups highlight this public festival. Also featured: hands-on workshops in music, dance, drama and art.

“Travel in Space.” Family Concert presented by the Pacific Symphony. Segerstrom Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. $5 children; $7 adults. Proto’s “Sounds of Strings” based on “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”; selections from Holst’s “The Planets” and from John Williams’ “Star Wars.”

SUNDAY, APRIL 22

“Hats Off to the Arts Festival.” Bowers Museum, 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Free. A multicultural celebration of food, music and dance including performances by Russian dancers, Buddhist drummers and workshops in Andean music, Chinese brush painting and Hula dancing.

“Fun Day Sunday.” Newport Harbor Art Museum and Newport Beach Public Library at Newport Center 850-56 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. Celebrate imagination and environmental awareness with a special afternoon of storytelling, puppets, a juggling jester, magicians, student art exhibits and more.

“A Day of Art and Nature.” The Museum of Natural History and Science, 2627 Vista del Oro, Newport Beach, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Free. “Romper Room” star Mary Hobbs leads an outdoor workshop in “Bubble-ology.” Children can create music in the “Native American Music” workshop or jewelry in the “Rock Art” workshop. A “Cave Art” workshop brings to life ancient Native American culture through examples of prehistoric mural painting.

THURSDAY, APRIL 26

“Clean Up Your Act!” South Coast Repertory’s Young Conservatory Players. Founders Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Also Friday at the same times. All performances sold out. Original one-act musical for children is about a youngster who hates to take out the trash but discovers that his garbage longs to be recycled.

“Fantasy Hats.” Laguna Art Museum at South Coast Plaza, South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bristol St., Suite 1000, Costa Mesa, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Free. Children of all ages are welcome in this make-your-own-topper hat workshop.

SATURDAY, APRIL 28

The Imaginarium. Orange County Performing Arts Center, Backlot, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free.

Fourth Annual Choral Festival. Presented by Pacific Chorale. Segerstrom Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Free. More than 1,000 vocal music students from 20 Orange County high schools participate in this songfest.

“A Grand Finale.” Pacific Chorale concert. Segerstrom Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 8 p.m. $12 to $35. All participating high school choirs join the chorale in their final performance of the season by singing in the “Triumphal March” from Verdi’s “Aida.”

“Hats Off to the Arts.” Children’s Museum at La Habra, 301 S. Euclid St., La Habra, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Free. Children can create hats to fit their dreams with materials supplied by the museum in this workshop.

Family Tours of “Heroes, Heroines, Idols, Icons.” Muckenthaler Cultural Center, 1201 W. Malvern Avenue, Fullerton, 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon. Free. Call for reservations. Tour the exhibit and explore ideas about courage, individualism and determination.

SUNDAY, APRIL 29

Imagination Celebration Finale. A family pops concert with Bob McGrath of “Sesame Street,” Segerstrom Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center. 1 p.m., 4 p.m. $5 general admission. A program for the whole family.