GARTH FAGAN DANCE: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYSby Sally Cohen ‐ November 26, 2019

2019 Home Season is Dec. 11–15 at Nazareth College Arts Center

All six performances feature Rochester premiere of Triptych  

Company also gives two free performances for 1600 area students

Rochester, NY – Rochester’s world-renowned Garth Fagan Dance presents its exciting 2019 Home Season just in time for the holidays: December 11 – 15 at Nazareth College Arts Center (4245 East Avenue, 14618)’s Callahan Theatre. Home for the Holidays performances are: Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, Dec. 12 at 8 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 13 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 14 at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. A meet-and-greet in the lobby with the entire company will follow each performance. 

All six performances will also feature the Rochester premiere of Triptych, Bessie Award-winner/GFD Rehearsal Director Norwood Pennewell’s tenth piece for GFD. This abstract work exudes playfulness set to the music of Keith Jarrett and others. Four different programs will also include a varying mix of the following pieces:

• The North Star, Garth Fagan’s celebration of the life of 19th-century abolitionist, orator, author, and Rochester icon Frederick Douglass, featuring a brilliant score by veteran Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra saxophonist Walter Blanding.
• Distant Kin, Pennewell’s ninth work for the company. The impressionist work is performed to the electronic music of “Gold Town” and “Ghajar” by Stavroz, and “Für die liebe” by Matthew Dekay and Lee Burridge.
• “…ING,” an exploration of relationships with music by the Emerson String Quartet with David Shifrin.
• Time After Before Place: Fagan’s creation story with music by the Art Ensemble of Chicago.
• Prelude: Discipline is Freedom (1983): an opening piece that introduces Garth Fagan’s distinctive style of dance through classroom exercises that build in complexity to a jubilant finale. Music by pianist Abdullah Ibrahim (Dollar Brand) and percussionist Max Roach.
• Translation Transition (2002): Fagan expresses a sense of community with music by Jazz Jamaica All Stars. 

In addition, both Family Holiday Matinees will feature the Garth Fagan Dance Student Ensemble (from the Garth Fagan Dance School) previewing “Forethought in Motion,” an abstract work with music by William Grant Still. 

“I’m incredibly proud of achieving 49 years of excellence with Garth Fagan Dance and excited to share the fruits of this past year’s labors with our wonderfully supportive hometown audiences,” says Founder/Artistic Director/President Garth Fagan – winner of America’s Tony, England’s Olivier Award; and Australia’s Helpmann Award and the  Bessie, and Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Awards. “There’s really nothing like experiencing Rochester’s international acclaimed Garth Fagan Dance in person, and what better time than when we’re Home for the Holidays?”  

Tickets are $40 (Orchestra), $43 (Orchestra Aisle), and $55 (Premium), and are available at the Nazareth College Arts Center Box Office: in person at 4245 East Ave., by phone at 585-389-2170, or online at https://www2.naz.edu/events/4183/garth-fagan-dance/. A ticket link and more info are also available at garthfagandance.org/home-for-the-holidays.

The following discounts are available: $15 tickets for children/students under 18 as well as college students with ID (in person only), a 20% senior discount (use code GFDSENIOR), and a 20% discount for groups of 10 more (use code GROUP20). Please note: prior sales are excluded, and online ticket buyers must log in to Nazareth College’s Online Sales in order to redeem discounts.

To further entice the hometown holiday crowd to experience one of Rochester’s true gems, Garth Fagan Dance is offering some festive extras and special incentives:

• Wednesday, Dec. 11, following 7:30 PM performance: Opening Night Reception with Garth & Company in neighboring Medaille Hall, open to all ticket buyers on a first-come/first-served RSVP basis (as space is limited) by calling Garth Fagan Dance offices at 585-454-3260.
• Thursday, Dec. 12 at 8 PM: buy-one/get-one-free ticket, applies to all full-price tickets (use code GFDBOGO).
• Sat. & Sun., Dec. 14 & 15 at 2 PM: Family Holiday Matinees with buy-one-adult/get-one-free child/student ticket offer, includes goodie bags for kids, an appearance by the Garth Fagan Dance Student Ensemble, and a lobby photo opportunity (use code GFDFAMILY, limit four tickets). 

The company will also present two free lecture/demonstration performances on Thursday, Dec. 12 – one for elementary students and the other for middle/high school students – from the Rochester City School District and other area schools. 

“Introducing young people to dance has always been an important part of Garth Fagan’s mission,” explains Bessie Award-winning dancer and GFD School Director Natalie Rogers-Cropper, who narrates the teaching performances. “Not only do arts-in education programs improve students’ academic and life skills, but this may be their first experience with concert dance. It is especially important that this is a diverse company focusing on – but not limited to – dancers of color, and with a mission to reflect and celebrate all cultures.”  

More about Garth Fagan Dance: Garth Fagan Dance is an internationally acclaimed contemporary American dance company, a bustling school of dance with an enrollment of 400 students, and a community-based resource of broad and growing influence, whose home has remained in Rochester for almost five decades. A true Rochester treasure, GFD packs a punch with Fagan’s signature technique that marries the fluidity of Caribbean dance, the polyrhythms of African dance, the precision of ballet, and the strength and weight of modern dance. 

The company began in the ‘70s, when the country was just beginning to emerge from a tumultuous decade of riots and widespread unrest. As part of his recent appointment to the faculty at the State University of New York in Brockport, Garth Fagan began teaching dance classes at the SUNY Educational Opportunity Center in downtown Rochester. Many of his students had no previous training, and most came from inner-city, economically disadvantaged backgrounds.  But Fagan was so inspired by their raw talent and tenacity that he decided to transform this highly unconventional group of dancers into a professional company, based not in one of the world’s cultural capitals, but in upstate New York. From this early start, the organization has continued to evolve, shaped by the values that first prompted its formation. Garth Fagan Dance is still dedicated to the sentiments expressed in its founding mission: “To advance, nurture, and sustain Garth Fagan’s pioneering vision of contemporary dance through creation, performance, and preservation of his choreography and the commissioning of works by company dancers. Dance training that encourages young people – regardless of their race, gender, or financial resources – to develop their full potential. Educational programs, performances, and activities that enrich communities and engage audiences.” 

The current Garth Fagan Dance company includes long-time Fagan stars and Bessie Award-winners Norwood Pennewell, Steve Humphrey, and Natalie Rogers-Cropper, as well as Vitolio Jeune, Adriene B. Hodge, Davente Gilreath, Sarah Herbert, Le’Tiger Walker, Rishell Maxwell, Anna Lee, Akeem Edwards, and Jordan Cowan. Please find more biographical information at garthfagandance.org.

Media please note: Media assets including high-resolution photos are available here: https://bit.ly/2OKGCtg, and interviews and photo/footage opportunities can be arranged. Visit garthfagandance.org for more information.