Center for the Arts to Present Garth Fagan Dance as Part of KeyBank Dance Series

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo will present Garth Fagan Dance at 8 p.m. on Feb 6 in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus. The performance is sponsored by KeyBank. Media sponsors are WGRZ-TV and WJYE-FM.

Garth Fagan has been called "a true original," "a genuine leader" and "one of the great reformers of American dance." As another critic put it, "in the genealogy of modern dance, he has started a whole new branch of the family tree." Fagan's achievements -- the creation of the internationally acclaimed Garth Fagan Dance, the company that fulfills his vision, and work as a guest choreographer, most recently and notably for Walt Disney's "The Lion King" -- have been recognized by a host of awards and honors. For his path-breaking choreography for "The Lion King," Fagan was awarded the prestigious 1998 Tony Award for Best Choreography. He also received the 1998 Drama Desk Award, 1998 Outer Critics Circle Award, 1998 Astaire Award, 2000 Laurence Olivier Award and the 2001 Ovation Award, for his work on the Broadway musical, which opened in fall 1997 to extraordinary critical praise.

Garth Fagan Dance, now in its 33rd anniversary season, is at the top of its profession. The company's dancers are renowned for their individuality, unmannered approach and virtuosity. The Fagan company has been cited for its excellence and originality with a New York Governor's Arts Award. Their distinctive movement quality comes from years of training in Fagan Technique, developed hand-in-hand with his own dance vocabulary when he started the ensemble in 1970. The company has five winners of "Bessie" Awards (New York Performance Awards) in its ranks and has performed throughout the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Near and Middle East, South America, New Zealand, Australia and the West Indies.

The company last performed in the Center for the Arts in October 2002 and received critical and popular praise. Their upcoming performance will feature an all-new program, including excerpts from Garth Fagan's acclaimed "Griot New York" (featuring music composed by Wynton Marsalis), "DanceCollageForRomie" (November 2003), and "Translation Transition" (November 2002).

Ticket holders for this performance also are invited to attend a pre-performance talk to be held in the Center's Screening Room at 7 p.m.

Tickets for Garth Fagan Dance are $22, $18 and $16. UB students save $6. Exclusive discount coupons are available at all KeyBank locations. Patrons also are encouraged to present their "Key To Your Town" key tag at the box office to receive the same discount. Key Tags are available at all KeyBank locations.

Tickets are available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Center for the Arts Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 1-416-870-8000. For Group Sales, call 645-6771. For more information, call 645-ARTS. The Center for the Arts is a TicketFast location.