Garth Fagan Dance opens its two-night run at the Ruth Seaton James Centre for the Performing Arts tonight under the Bermuda Festival banner, and from all accounts audiences are in for a dynamic and unforgettable experience.

Hailed by critics for his originality, leadership, and as a reformer of American dance, Mr. Fagan is an internationally acclaimed guest choreographer, most notably for Disney's 'Lion King'.

Garth Fagan Dance was founded more than 35 years ago, and its dancers are renowned for their individuality, unmannered approach and virtuosity ? thanks to the artistic language passed on by Jamaican-born Mr. Fagan, its founder and artistic director, who numbers Martha Graham and Alvin Ailey among his teachers.

Mr. Fagan draws his technique and inspiration from many sources: sense of weight in modern dance; torso-centred movement and energy of Afro-Caribbean; speed and precision of ballet, and the rule-breaking experimentation of the post modern.

The distinctive quality of the Company comes from years of training in Fagan Technique, the teaching method Garth Fagan developed hand-in-hand with his own dance vocabulary when he started the ensemble in 1970.

Master classes are still part of the educational programmes the Company offers, which are designed to introduce participants to the Fagan style.

For his ground-breaking choreography for 'The Lion King', Mr. Fagan was awarded the prestigious 1998 Tony Award for Best Choreography.

Other awards garnered over the years include the Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Astaire Award, Laurence Olivier Award and Ovation Award.

Mr. Fagan, who holds many honorary doctorate degrees, is a professor at the State University of New York, and has taught for over three decades at SUNY Brockport.

Performances of 'Garth Fagan Dance' take place tonight and tomorrow night beginning at 8 p.m. Please note: Doors to the theatre will be closed five minutes before curtain time, and there will be no late admissions until the interval. For ticket information visit the Festival box office next to the ferry terminal on Front Street between noon and 2 p.m., or 296-5774.