Garth fagan bio

Mission​​

To advance, nurture, and sustain

Garth Fagan’s pioneering vision of contemporary dance through…

Creation, performance, and preservation of his choreography

and the commissioning of works by company dancers.

Dance training that encourages young people, regardless of their

race, gender, or financial resources to develop their full potential.

Educational programs, performances, and activities

that enrich communities and engage audiences.

Company History​​

The company’s start began in the ‘70s when the country was just beginning to emerge from a tumultuous decade of riots and widespread unrest.  As part of his recent appointment to the faculty at the State University of New York in Brockport, Garth Fagan began teaching dance classes at the SUNY Educational Opportunity Center in downtown Rochester.

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Many of his students had no previous training.  Most came from inner city, economically disadvantaged backgrounds.  But Fagan was so inspired by their raw talent and tenacity that he decided to transform this highly unconventional group of dancers into a professional company, based not in one of the world’s cultural capitals but in upstate New York.

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From this early start, the organization has continued to evolve, shaped by the values that first prompted its formation, Garth Fagan Dance is still dedicated to the sentiments expressed in its founding mission…

Garth's Parents

Garth - age 8

Fagan at the Wand Theatre, Kingston, Jamaica

S.W.

Don't miss out on making sure that your favorite theatres, stars, and shows get the recognition they deserve! This tornado also produces the highest wind speed ever recorded, measured at 301 +/- 20 mph (484 +/- 32 km/h).1999Infiltration of Pakistani soldiers on Indian side results in the Kargil War.2000The sport of geocaching begins, with the first cache placed and the coordinates from a GPS posted on Usenet.2001The United States loses its seat on the U.N.

Human Rights Commission for the first time since the commission was formed in 1947.2006Armavia Flight 967 crashes into the Black Sea near Sochi International Airport in Sochi, Russia, killing 113 people.2007The three-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann disappears in Praia da Luz, Portugal, starting "the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history".2015Two gunmen launch an attempted attack on an anti-Islam event in Garland, Texas, which was held in response to the Charlie Hebdo shooting.2016Eighty-eight thousand people are evacuated from their homes in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada as a wildfire rips through the community, destroying approximately 2,400 homes and buildings.1989The birth of Jesse Bromwich, New Zealand rugby league player1989The birth of Katinka Hosszú, Hungarian swimmer1990The birth of Alexandra Cadanțu-Ignatik, Romanian tennis player1990The birth of Brooks Koepka, American golfer1990The birth of James Pattinson, Australian cricketer1991The birth of Samuel Seo, South Korean musician1992The birth of Aaron Whitchurch, Australian rugby league player1995The birth of Ivan Bukavshin, Russian chess player (d.

Ironically, the majority of students who participated in the program graduated from college suma cum laude, as presidential scholars or in some way at the top of their class. She is an advisory board member of the Bi-racial Partnership Program.

Lockhart has received many recognitions and awards, most notably the Rochester Area Community Foundation Philanthropy Award, the Unsung Heroes from the City of Rochester, Black History Month Gate Opener from the Rochester City School District for contributions to the vitality of Rochester, the Austin Steward Strive for Freedom Award, a High Falls Honor for outstanding contributions to Rochester, and was a 2004 Athena Award nominee
Lockhart is married with three children, ten grandchildren and one great-grand child.

A distinguished university professor at SUNY Brockport, he has received numerous awards and fellowships, including the 2001 Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award, a Bessie Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Fulbright 50th Anniversary Distinguished Fellow. Fagan's tribute to Romare Bearden "DanceCollageForRomie", premieres in 2003.

The Company performs at City Center's "Fall for Dance."

Summer Movement Institute begins.

Garth Fagan Dance appoints its first ever Executive Director, Ruby P.

Lockhart.

GFD performs at the Grand Opening Festival of Jazz at Lincoln Cneter's new home, Fredrick P. Rose Hall.

GFD premieres its NYC Season at Jazz at Lincoln Center, reviving "Griot New York," including one live performance with Wynton Marsalis and performs at The Kennedy Center America Dancing presents "Masters of African American Choreography".

Bill Ferguson becomes Director and Resident Choreographer of the GFD Student Ensemble.

Gleason Works provides $500,000 investment in the Company.

GFD performs "From Before" at New York City Center Fall for Dance Festival.

"Mudan 175/39" was named by the New York Times as the third of the top six dance watching moments of 2009.

The Company appears for the 10th time at Jacob's Pillow.

Garth Fagan and Oprah Winfrey at "The Lion King" South Africa

Dance Heritage Coalition adds Fagan to its list of  "America's 100 Irreplaceable Dance Treasures" in recognition of his "significant impact on the art form, demonstrated artistic excellence, major contributions to the nation's cultural heritage and potential to impact future generations".

"Lighthouse Lightning Rod", Fagan's second collaboration with Wynton Marsalis and his Septet, premieres at BAM Nextwave Festival.

Fagan receives Marcus Garvey Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute of Caribbean Studies, presented by Jamaican Ambassador Audrey P.

Marks.

Norwood Pennewell sets "Liminal Flux" on the Company.

GFD awarded $100,000 Max & Marian Farash Foundation grant for Stop the Violence program.

Video: Gayle King Makes Broadway Debut in THE LION KING
by Josh Sharpe - Jul 25, 2025

On Thursday, CBS News journalist Gayle King, along with Oprah Daily creative director Adam Glassman, made their Broadway debuts in The Lion King, appearing in the opening number of the hit musical.

Dance beat out art as Mr. Fagan's primary creative calling, and today his father's credo lives on in the subtitle of the company's signature work. But somehow he choreographed countless college productions, and attended dance festivals around the country, and took classes with Martha Graham.