Garth Fagan

At age 58, choreographer Garth Fagan is the new kid on the block: a respected modern dance artist with his own 29-year-old company who, because of dances he created for his first Broadway musical, "The Lion King," has suddenly reached the media winner's circle.

Dwarfed by the giant, endless slave-chain behind him, Norwood Pennewell inches across the stage of Royce Hall on his back--pulling himself ever forward toward a destination that he can't possibly see.

Using the physical and emotional linkages between conjoined twins as a metaphor, choreographer Winifred R. Harris' "In Soul We Mate" invites us to look at connection, responsibility and the ties that bind. But this daring, new two-act project, at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre on Saturday, suffers from needless literalism. For far too long, members of Harris' locally based Between Lines company must dance attached to life-size mannequins or head-effigies.

"Imagine standing on the banks of the Congo, looking across the river," recounts Garth Fagan almost incantatorially. "There's an awesome emotional connection. My work has its roots there." Fagan is director and choreographer of the Bucket Dance Theatre, a predominantly black modern dance troupe he led on a five-nation U.S. State Department tour of Africa in 1985. That tour was a promise fulfilled for the 12-member ensemble.

The Dance Theatre of Harlem used to be a hot ticket in Pasadena. The company--invariably gutsy and vital, even when it was less than perfectly polished--always attracted the usual ballet aficionados in large numbers. It also appealed to a broad ethnic audience, an unabashedly enthusiastic and justifiably proud audience that normally tends to avoid local events involving toe shoes and tutus.

In its first visit to California, Garth Fagan's Bucket Dance Theatre proved two things in a performance Thursday at Cal State Long Beach: First, Fagan is a strong company builder. His 12-member New York troupe danced with rare power, clarity, energy and style. Second, the all-Fagan program revealed an inventive, eclectic choreographer who successfully could blend elements of ballet, jazz, modern and Afro-Caribbean dance. But his choreography also proved uneven.

Don't let the tailored suit and natty tie fool you. Wynton Marsalis sees himself as a rebel. Arriving in town this week for three performances of his "Griot New York" ballet score with the Garth Fagan Dance Company, Marsalis doesn't understand why he is viewed by many as a jazz traditionalist.

Garth Fagan Dance, an internationally renowned modern dance troupe critically acclaimed for its originality and virtuosity, will perform Sunday at Cal State Northridge as part of a campus salute to Black History Month. The New York-based troupe will help kick off the university's celebration of black history, culture and achievement.

Chicago legend Buddy Guy connects with his Delta blues roots on his upcoming album, "Sweet Tea," in which the guitarist performs songs by the likes of R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough and T-Model Ford, with some help from Jim Mathus (Squirrel Nut Zippers), Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello & the Attractions) and Bobby Whitlock (Derek & the Dominos). * Buddy Guy, Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos, 8 p.m. $45 and $50. (800) 300-4345.

Garth Fagan's dances are sometimes broken into named sections, but audiences may not pay much attention to that device. Instead, they probably just let the many scenes flow by like a panorama and savor them for all the moods and movement invention they offer. In "Nkanyit" (1997), one of four works presented by Garth Fagan Dance on Saturday night at the Luckman Theatre at Cal State L.A., different facets of life seemed to go by.