Garth Fagan

Known around the world for his groundbreaking choreography of Broadway’s The Lion King, Garth Fagan is widely acknowledged as the architect of a distinct new movement style and the man who transformed Rochester, NY into an incubator for world-class contemporary dance. He is the creator of over 75 works for theater and the concert stage and an inspired teacher. 

Fagan was born in Jamaica, West Indies in 1940. The son of an Oxford-educated father and Jamaica’s chief education officer, he began performing with Ivy Baxter’s Jamaican National Dance Company while he was still in high school. In 1960, he came to the United States to earn an undergraduate degree in psychology at Detroit’s Wayne State University, but continued dancing. Fagan had almost completed the master’s program before concluding that dance was his true calling. Over the course of a decade, he studied with Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, Mary Hinkson, and José Limon, and performed with Pearl Primus and Lavania Williams in New York. In Detroit, Fagon directed the All-City Dance Company and choreographed and danced as a principal soloist with two other companies. In 1969, he was invited to join the faculty of SUNY Brockport. A year later, inspired by the raw talent and perseverance of the inner-city students he met while teaching at a SUNY-run extension program in Rochester, he founded his first dance company, originally named the "Bottom of the Bucket BUT ... Dance Theatre". As the company gained stature, the name changed to the more succinct Garth Fagan Dance. 

Critics have hailed Fagan as “a trail blazer,” “a wizard,” and “one of the great reformers of modern dance.” Not content with established traditions, he developed the Fagan Technique™, a unique and evolving vocabulary that fuses the weight of modern dance, the vitality of Afro-Caribbean movement, and the speed and precision of ballet with the risk-taking experimentation of post-modernism. 

Fagan’s choreography defies classification, with works ranging from his legendary celebration of African culture (The Lion King) to a haunting portrait of urban life (Griot New York); from a stunning demonstration of technical prowess (Prelude: Discipline is Freedom) to a series of sensuous duets (Until, By & If I & II); and from a moving depiction of fortitude and struggle (Oatka Trail) to a joyous eruption of movement and sound (Woza). The music he explores in his dances represents an eclectic blend of jazz, African, modern, and classical traditions.  

Although Fagan choreographs primarily for Garth Fagan Dance, his works have also been performed by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theatre of Harlem, José Limón Dance Company, and New York City Ballet, among other leading companies. He also choreographed a production of Duke Ellington’s only opera, Queenie Pie, at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. 

Fagan has received countless awards and honors for his choreography, contributions to the field, teaching, and life achievements. He holds honorary doctorates from The Juilliard School, the University of Rochester, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. He is a recipient of the State University of New York’s Chancellor’s Award and the first faculty member in dance to attain the university’s highest rank.