‘NIK AND MURRAY’ : DUO MARKS 40 YEARS OF COLLABORATION

If public television periodically showcased the work of modern-dance choreographers Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis, then all the biographical information and psychological insight crammed into the “Nik and Murray” episode of PBS’ “American Masters” series (tonight at 8 on Channel 50, at 9 on Channels 28 and 15) might well be valuable.

Certainly director/photographer Christian Blackwood deftly spotlights major creative and personal issues of the Nikolais-Louis relationship in his hour-long look at what is called “the story of their nearly 40 years of friendship and artistic collaboration.”

Easygoing and self-deprecating, Nikolais speaks of dance as both a visual and kinetic art and explains his need to bypass psychological content in favor of a form of abstraction that he calls “motional architecture.”

Aggressive and self-promoting, Louis describes his reliance as a dancer on “inner intuitive judgment” and demonstrates his mastery of intricate muscular isolations--a concept of virtuosity different from the large-scale athleticism of ballet.

There are candid statements about the problems of living together and a revealing Nikolais remark about Louis’ “insatiable maw of want.” Blackwood also includes a memorable scene in which Louis praises Nikolais’ cooking, declares “He’s certainly won his way to my heart through my stomach, I’ll tell you that,” and then dissolves in giggles.

This is fascinating but it puts the cart before the horse. Surely Nikolais and Louis are important because of the quality of their work, and that work has been relegated to the background here, overwhelmed by personality footage. How frustrating to see only a few seconds of such prime Nikolais creations as “Kaleidoscope,” “Sanctum” and “Tensile Involvement”--or to find the longer dance excerpts serving as random embellishments of voice-over opinions and data. What price puffery?

“Nik and Murray” is for people who consider artists more fascinating than art, who believe that celebrity represents the summit of achievement and who look at a body of work chiefly as a source of anecdotes. Blackwood may show plenty of dancing but this is definitely not a dance show.