Also this issue: Boom Town CP's dance critics take a look at all four evenings of DanceBoom! at the Wilma. -D.K and J.A Artsbeat -Debra Auspitz A Night with Dame Edna -David Anthony Fox Face Time -Lori Hill Stephen Dubner -Andrew Milner For the Love of Pig Iron! -A.D. Amorosi La Traviata: Verdi Good -David Shengold

January 30-February 5, 2003

artpicks

Party On, Garth

by Deni Kasrel

Whenever Garth Fagan's name is mentioned, you can bet the phrase "choreographer of Broadway's The Lion King" will soon follow. His contribution to the hit show has become a potent calling card. Rightly so, as Fagan's lively choreography for The Lion King was noteworthy enough to garner a Tony Award. Yet Fagan is hardly a one-hit wonder. The man had a meritorious career long before he put moves to "Hakuna Matata" and the rest of those catchy tunes. That Tony is but one of many accolades, which include Guggenheim and NEA Fellowships, a Bessie, a Drama Desk Award and the Monarch Award from the National Council for Culture and Art. Prior to forming his own company, Fagan studied with Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham and José Limón, and like these esteemed choreographers, Fagan has developed a highly personal methodology. Fagan's technique melds aspects from an amalgam of movement styles, most notably the energy and expression of Afro-Caribbean gesture (he was born in Jamaica), the precision of ballet and the spatial qualities of postmodern dance. The man loves long, languorous leg lifts and really deep pliés, and he is prone to setting dancers off in bursts of energy followed by moments of stillness. Which is to say: Fagan digs contrasts. Not to mention surprises -- just when you think you've got a piece figured out, he takes it in a different direction. All the better to keep viewers wondering what comes next.

Garth Fagan Dance, Fri., Jan. 31-Sun., Feb. 2, $30-$42, Kimmel Center, 260 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999.