'From the desert to the sea'

MOMIX, the acclaimed dance/illusionist troupe known for its theatrics and daredevil choreography, will take the stage of the Elizabeth Wallace Theatre on Wednesday for a one-night-only performance at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina.

"The fun of theater is that it's an escape from reality," said MOMIX's founder and artistic director, Moses Pendleton. "We're taking the audience on a journey to the kind of places you see in your dreams."

Opening the show is a hip-hopping 25-foot day-glo alien brought to life (with the help of stilts) by dancer Todd Burnsed. The robotic figure was created by Michael Curry, designer of the puppets featured in the Broadway production of "The Lion King."

The space odyssey continues with "Orbit," a solo number featuring the petite Nicole Loizides. Elsewhere, in "Sputnik," three couples perilously test the limits of centrifugal force as they hang onto spears set into a large spinning bowl.

Choreographer Pendleton said he spends four hours a day walking the hills surrounding his Connecticut home and studio in search of inspiration."I'm a little like Thoreau," Pendleton said. "The hills speak to me. They jump-start my imagination."

A former champion skier, Pendleton first began exploring the crossover between sports and arts with Pilobolus, a modern dance company he co-founded in 1971. He took the concept a step further with MOMIX, stretching the boundaries of dance to create a series of otherworldly illusions.

His innovative blend of acrobatics and modern dance has earned him acclaim and a number of choice projects, including the closing ceremonies of the 1980

Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, award-winning specials for PBS, the IMAX 3-D film "Imagine" and the video for Prince's "Batdance."

"My palette is a 30-foot by 40-foot black box," Pendleton said. "I have to limit my fantasies to the reality of the studio."

These days, he works with a group of 35 dancers who travel the world performing some of his most popular shows, among them Passion, MOMIX in Orbit, Opus Cactus, Baseball and Lunar Sea. The troupe's Arts Center performance will include pieces from all five programs.

"It's a sampler of what we do," Pendleton said. "In this show, we go all over the place, from the desert to the sea to outer space."