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This weekend, Garth Fagan Dance returns to Rochester for its 2024 Home Showcase, featuring dance sequences both familiar and new.
Though its founder has stepped down from an active role as leader and artistic director of the dance company, the presence of the 84-year-old Fagan (who still serves in an emeritus position) continues to vibrate throughout the space, both physically and mentally.
Walking through the offices, there are stacks of audio and visual recordings of Fagan’s performances, part of a long-term cataloguing project. Norwood “PJ” Pennewell, the new artistic director of Garth Fagan Dance, only the second after Fagan himself, recalls a recent performance by the studio at the Joyce Theater in New York City.
“After the second night, Garth saw me and he said, ‘You know they need to do this, that, and this other thing.’ It wasn’t a chastizing type of comment, it was just him still being an artistic director,” Pennewell says. “When he’s in that theater and he’s looking at that box, he’s hardwired to observe and think about what could be a little bit better.
“When you’re looking at it in terms of, How does the lighting look? Did the music start on time? What did this dancer do? Oh god, this one is over a little further today and so I have to make sure I take a note of that. And you do it for every performance?” Pennewell adds. “The first time I actually sat out and watched (as artistic director), by the end of the night, I was wiped, my mind was shot. And then I had to think, how the hell did Garth do this every single night for over 50 years?”
Pennewell, who has danced with Fagan since 1978, and Executive Director Natalie Rogers-Cropper are both veterans of Garth Fagan Dance, which itself has been in existence for 54 years.
The company is currently more youthful than usual. Pennewell says that its seasoned dancers have now been with Garth Fagan Dance for a minimum of five years.
“Back in the day, five years in, you were still considered basically a rookie,” he says.
That fact makes Pennewell all the more proud that the group is as cohesive and supportive as they are. For instance, the company brought in three new dancers last summer, coming on board about 10 weeks before their shows at the Joyce.
“We never ask anyone to cram with the choreography, the technique, and the awareness of what your body is trying to do that’s different from what your body used to do, in the matter of weeks. That would make anyone concerned. But they were really really beautiful,” Pennewell says. “It was heartwarming, not just for them to accomplish what they accomplished, but to see their belief in our system and wanting to help contribute to what we would need.”
The 2024 Home Showcase will put a spotlight on many of those performances in New York City. It acts somewhat as a timeline for the entire studio’s history, the artistic director notes.
The troupe will start with excerpts from several of Fagan’s original dances, including his signature piece “Prelude: Discipline is Freedom,” moving to movements choreographed by Pennewell, including a shamanistic ritual exploration of “The Rite of Spring,” and Rogers-Cropper’s “Life Receding,” which delves into the effects of global warming on the Caribbean.
“So, there will be little snippets, little bonbons of things in the performances, alongside real mouthfuls of full dances you’ll be able to see at the showcase,” Pennewell says.
Performances for Garth Fagan Dance 2024 Home Showcase will be held Dec. 6-8 at the MCC Theater. Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office an hour before each performance.
Jacob Schermerhorn is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and data journalist. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. See “Leave a Reply” below to discuss on this post. Comments of a general nature may be submitted to the Letters page by emailing [email protected].
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