THE CONCEPT OF AN ABSTRACT and purely formal theater extends back to the turn of the century and the kinetic visions of Gordon Craig. Based on an integration of light, sound, color, and movement, his Theater of the Future eliminated plot and verbalization. The Bauhaus in the ’20s similarly experimented with ideas of an abstract dance-theater as a form of kinetic art. The technological orientation of Gordon Craig virtually eliminated the performer, while in the Bauhaus’ dance productions, the “dancer” was essentially little more than a highly stylized marionette. These experiments in formalism