It was 7:30 p.m. when the performance started. At most shows, the house lights will dim, the background music will fade, and some faceless voice will come on over a PA system asking you to silence your phone, look for the exits, and complete a variety of other tasks. But that didn’t happen here. Instead, at the Garth Fagan Dance Studio, Natalie Rogers-Cropper, executive director and principal dancer at Garth Fagan Dance, walked onto stage and introduced the show, which was a special program for the Rochester Fringe Festival.
The Rochester Fringe Festival is the largest multidisciplinary performing arts festival in New York, and one of the most famed in America. Currently sponsored by ESL Federal Credit Union, the Fringe this year involves over 600 performances running until Sept. 20. There are shows in a variety of genres: comedy, music, spoken word, theatre, and, of course, dance. There are many spectaculars at Fringe, and one of them is this very series of performances by Garth Fagan Dance (GFD). The dance company headlines the Fringe, and anyone with a knowledge of dance history could tell you why: Garth Fagan is a legend, and one very special to Rochester.
Garth Fagan is best known for his Tony Award–winning choreography for “The Lion King” musical, which has been running on Broadway since 1997. The longevity of this work makes Fagan the longest-running Black choreographer in Broadway history. However, before achieving Broadway success, Fagan established GFD in Rochester 55 years ago. This small city has been the company’s home ever since.
After seeing the GFD Fringe show, I talked to Ethan Beckwith-Cohen, who’s been a dancer with GFD for the last four years. We met at Java’s Cafe, only a block away from the studio where the company performs their Fringe program. “People [should] understand how important Garth Fagan is to Rochester and the dance world,” Beckwith-Cohen told me. He has a long history with GFD: as a Rochester native he grew up watching the company’s winter home season performances, attending GFD summer intensive training programs, and taking class in Fagan Technique, which is only taught in Rochester.
Fagan Technique is Garth Fagan’s creation, a dance practice developed with specific influences from Caribbean, African, modern, and ballet dance techniques. Fagan Technique blends together many elements of each above style while still being something distinct. All works performed by Garth Fagan Dance are characteristic of this unique dance language, which was the primary informer for his choreography for “The Lion King” musical. What stuck out to me when I went to see the Fringe show on Thursday night was the dancers’ quality of execution and ability to transition smoothly and confidently into each movement. Beckwith-Cohen explained that “with any modern dance technique, there’s a certain way of doing things … a lot of our training is how to take away or hide preparations for balances, turns, and leaps.” In other words, the choreography is meant to be “as surprising and natural as possible.”
As an audience member, all of that training certainly created the desired effect. And that sentiment isn’t unique to me; a man sitting in front of me, after seeing an excerpt from “Life Receding,” a 2023 work choreographed by the show’s emcee, Rogers-Cropper, whispered to the man next to him: “That was good.”
My favorite dance was a solo called “Talking Drums,” choreographed by Garth Fagan in 2005 and performed by a company dancer named Mason Lee. The captivating piece was about a boy listening to drums that resound with the voices of one’s ancestors. By listening to drums and following their advice, the boy comes into good fortune. Sitting in the audience and watching Lee dance, it felt like I could almost hear half of a conversation. Lee was so committed to the movement and the story of the choreography that every time he dipped his head down, pressing his ear to the dark panels of the dance floor, it seemed as if I could see the unheard words filtering up through the stage and processing on his face. It was suspenseful, like hanging on to the edge of every word as your friend answers a call from an unknown number, trying to decipher what the stranger on the other end is saying. Here, you don’t need any words to experience the conversation. The movement, the jumps, and flat footed turns encompass the whole story. It was a remarkable performance.
I also enjoyed the finale piece titled “One Love,” choreographed in 2002. Before the dance started, Rogers-Cropper regaled the story of how the music had traveled to Fagan from a friend working in London as a DJ. The reggae tune was upbeat and celebratory, which came across in how vibrant the dance looked. The dancers were dressed in street clothes and moved together in clumps as if they were at a party. Beckwith-Cohen had an especially big smile while he performed the dance’s demanding choreography, keeping it widely plastered on his face jump after jump.
Beckwith-Cohen, regarding how he committed to the joy of the piece so well, said, “You can’t dance when you’re not fully immersed in the world that is the dance.” He elaborated that in order to make the audience feel joy you have to feel it yourself. And the philosophy works: this piece was definitely the most fun watch.
Seeing this show reminded me that it’s a gift to have such an important piece of culture living right here in Rochester. GFD isn’t just a dance company, but is also an emblem of our city, and I would recommend the show to anyone with even an iota of interest. Of course, modern dance is not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’ve never seen Fagan Technique, I would compel you to give this show a shot.
How to See the Show:
The Garth Fagan Dance Studio is only a four minute walk from the Orange Line’s Innovation Square shuttle stop and only a six minute walk from the Orange/Red Line Eastman Living Center stop. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased from the Rochester Fringe Festival website. Upcoming performances are Thursday and Friday Sept. 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday Sept. 20 at 3 p.m. The Saturday show includes an additional piece performed by the GFD Student Ensemble and choreographed by Beckwith-Cohen. If interested, you can also get involved with Garth Fagan dance by taking class with them. Ethan teaches a class at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays that is half off for students; sign-ups are available under the Education tab on the Garth Fagan Dance website.
