Garth Fagan is building a mecca

Maybe you can come
home again.

            In 1991, three
acknowledged masters — choreographer Garth Fagan, musician Wynton Marsalis,
and sculptor Martin Puryear — collaborated on an evening-long work, Griot
New York. The premiere at Brooklyn Academy received rave reviews, as did
the international performances. The artists’ schedules didn’t permit Fagan to
bring the work home to Rochester until September 1993, when we regarded it as a
glorious, once-in-a-lifetime event.

            Well, it seems we will have another chance: the artists
are bringing a gala anniversary performance of GriotNew York to
our own Eastman Theatre this Saturday, September 6.

            The concert is incredibly rich, synthesizing African
traditions and American contemporary culture, told from the point of view of a
“griot,” or a historian who passes on the wisdom, traditions, and history of a
society.

            I asked Fagan, our griot, about this reunion performance.

City:What started this revival?

            Fagan: Honestly, I do not know. Mostly the
chance to work with Wynton. Besides being a genius, he’s a lovely person.

City: Do you expect changes in the work?

            Fagan: Oh, I’m sure. One major change is that Sharon Skepple
won’t be dancing the role she created, because she’s pregnant. Keisha Clarke will dance Sharon’s role. Keisha is a tall,
beautiful dancer. The music she’ll dance to in Griot is new to her.
She’s young and doesn’t know jazz. But Keisha will be fabulous.

City: What other new dancers are there?

            Fagan: Tina
[Valentina Alexander] did the original love duet, but the girl who’ll be doing
that, Nicolette Depass, is a freer spirit. Just wait till you see her.

            Guy Thorne is new to Griot —
small and sexy, beautiful dancer. He’s more internalized than most are at that
young age. And we’ve got a new girl, Michelle [Hebert]. Another redhead, you
know my penchant for redheads. Another beautiful dancer, Momo [Sanno], is from
Rumania. I met him in Hamburg.

City: And no doubt the original dancers will
have grown in the roles.

            Fagan:I
like the look of the company now. They’ve all grown and experienced more of
life. The seniors, PJ [Norwood Pennewell] and Natalie [Rogers], are just
amazing. They are inspirational to the younger kids. I say to Guy [Thorne],
‘You see what [Pennewell’s] body can do at 42? You see why I want more out of
you at 23?’

City: How about Steve [original company member
Steve Humphrey, now 51]?

            Fagan: Of course! You can’t stop him. I told
him, ‘Whatever you don’t want to do, let me know, Steve.’ And he’s out there
doing everything.

City: Any changes in the Marsalis Septet?

            Fagan: Wynton’s will be pretty much the same
group, except the pianist is new. But everybody else will have done it with us,
and on tour, and none of us can wait. Because it’s a mutual admiration society.
When PJ does the slavery solo, Wynton plays all kinds of wicked games with him.

            And you have to remember that Griot was the first piece that Wynton composed for dance. So it was a learning curve
for him. Now, after Griot, he’s now done pieces for New York City
Ballet, Twyla Tharp, Judy Jamison…

City: You’re using the same great pieces by
Puryear?

            Fagan: Of
course. And we’ll tour with them. They were designed for touring, and we took
them as far as Australia.

City: This concert is a fundraiser?

            Fagan: Yes, and this time of year in Rochester everybody is
away, so we’re getting a little scared. But we’re pushing the hat, and we’ll
see what happens. The last time we did it Wynton performed for free, but this
time his financial situation is not as good, so I wouldn’t dare ask him for
that.

            But it will be a nice kickoff for the Rochester arts
season. We hope people will come.

City: How about your future plans?

            Fagan: We have a premiere to get ready for in
New York. But restoring this Griot has been so rewarding. It’s a full,
rich experience. Lots of the full- evening works you get in dance are so hammy
and so full of acting as opposed to dancing. But [in Griot] they dance
from start to finish.

City: Any more shows after “Lion King?”

            Fagan: Well, there’s one, but we’ve had to put
it on hold because of the financial situation. And I’ve turned down a few
things, like Man of La Mancha, because I want to do something entirely
new and original. I don’t want to do schtick. But the kind of sets I want to
use, and the kind of space I want for dance, is revolutionary and costly.

City: Tell me about your local theater project.

            Fagan: We’re still struggling to get our
theatre built here. Our plan is to have a dance season, and I know enough
people in jazz and other forms that we could keep it active with cutting-edge
stuff.

            We could do a longer dance season,
and then bring in dance companies, and jazz, and it could become a mecca. After
all, now that
we’re going to have this grand ferry, it will be crowded for Toronto, but why
are they coming here? What are people going to come here to see?

Griot
New York will be performed on Saturday, September 6, at the Eastman Theatre, 26 Gibbs
Street, at 7:30 p.m. Tix: $20-$65 www.ticketmaster.com, 232-1900. For more
information about Garth Fagan Dance, visit www.garthfagandance.org.

This article appears in Sep 3-9, 2003.