Tonight the Cinematheque begins the first complete West Coast retrospective of the films of Yvonne Rainer. Beginning as a dancer/choreographer in the early 60’s, Rainer’s work in dance, film, and theory has been pivotal in redefining the landscape of contemporary art. Lives of Performers (A Melodrama) marked her transition from dancer/choreographer to filmmaker. Completed in 1972, the film incorporates sequences from her dance and performance work. Presented in fourteen episodes, Lives… opens with a dance rehearsal of Rainer’s Walk, she said, thus establishing the film’s method of weaving “real” events with “fictional” roles and relationships. (90 min.) Also: Trio A (1968/1981,10 min.).