For their 54th season, Garth Fagan Dance presents a program that covers the wide range of the company’s artistry and development. From a work in progress by Artistic Director Norwood Pennewell to the first-ever showcase piece choreographed by a woman, the show gives audiences a proper overview of who — and what — Garth Fagan Dance is today
The show opens with Fagan’s 1981 classic and crowd favorite “Prelude.” The dancers move through body isolations, footwork, pirouettes and jump sequences that mimic a Fagan technique class. Steve Humphrey, an original company member, starts the piece front and center. Humphrey’s skill is inspiring, and proof that a dance career can evolve rather than end with age. He performs in both “Prelude” and “Rite of Spring,” where he partners with fellow longtime company member and current Executive Director Natalie Rogers-Cropper. The senior dancers are established in their artistry and athleticism, acting as a standard to which all Fagan dancers are held.
The newer company dancers are up for the challenge of dancing alongside Bessie Award winners Rogers and Humphrey. Los Angeles native Amir Yorke only joined Garth Fagan Dance in August, yet he has already mastered the control that is equally difficult and essential in Fagan technique. Despite the demanding movement, Yorke appears calm, with an elegance that makes him feel at home on the Rochester stage.
An excerpt from Norwood Pennewell’s “Gin” stays true to the Fagan style with mesmerizing rhythms, quick, explosive jumps, long lines and impossible balances. Principal dancers Sabrina Cmelak-Shiman and Kiara Jolié Haywood are standouts; both women are petite but have a quiet confidence that makes their small statures expand onstage. They have complete control and trust in their bodies, each limb going to precisely the right spot and each breath adding texture to their dancing.
The highlight of the program is “Life Receding,” created by Rogers-Cropper in 2023. While the Fagan technique is embedded in the choreography, this is Rogers-Cropper’s first time as a choreographer in a home showcase, and she takes risks with rhythm, partnering and sound that pay off greatly.
Guest dancer and long-time company member Wynton Rice offers Jolié Haywood unwavering support in a vulnerable, beautiful duet — riveting because of its focus on emotional connection in addition to the standard impressive technique. The costuming gives life to the rhythm integral to the choreography; Jolié Haywood’s skirt swishing around her hips as she spins and soars through space.
Daria Clarke, who has been with the company since 2021, fully embodies Rogers-Cropper’s style. She wears ankle shakers, creating music that reverberates through her body. Clarke’s strength is in her kinship with the stage and the groove of the choreography, her movement grounded and intuitive.
Principal dancer Gabrielle Samuel is fire in dancer form in “Life Receding.” She’s a warrior, using speed and syncopation to create a heated energy that contrasts beautifully with the cooling tenderness of Rice and Jolié Haywood’s partnering.
While Program A includes an excerpt from Fagan’s 2006 “Senku,” Program B features “Tending, Harvest & Shade” by Samuel. The inclusion of Samuel’s work in the program underscores Pennewell and Rogers-Cropper’s dedication to the development of their dancers—not only as performers, but also as choreographers.
The Fagan dancers are finding their individual styles within the overarching dynamic of the group, which will continue to strengthen the company’s future. By showcasing works in progress and choreography by artists other than Fagan, it’s clear the new leadership is fully embracing this latest chapter of Garth Fagan Dance, giving voice and platforms to the next generation of artists.
Garth Fagan Dance’s 2024 Home Showcase runs through Dec. 8 at MCC Theater, 1000 East Henrietta Road; more info and tickets here.
Sydney Burrows is a contributor to CITY.
This article appears in Dec 1-31, 2024.
