Norwood Pennewell joined Garth Fagan Dance in 1978, and is the quintessential Garth Fagan dancer and is Fagan's assistant and muse. Pennewell is a recipient of a 1988 New York Performance Award "Bessie" and has had several major works created for him, including Passion Distanced, Time After Before Place, and Moth Dreams, among others. Pennewell's dancing has been seen all over the world and on "Great Performances," "The Tonight Show" and in Duke Ellington's Queenie Pie. In 1994 he was invited to perform in the “66th Annual Academy Awards” broadcast. Pennewell teaches both company and master classes for Garth Fagan Dance. He assisted Mr. Fagan during his work on Broadway’s The Lion King and the NYC Ballet 50th anniversary Ellington project.  

Norwood “PJ” Pennewell has a 44-year performance history as a world-class dancer, and a decades long understanding of Fagan Technique. Over the last eleven years, Mr. Pennewell has choreographed 11 new works on Garth Fagan Dance and is in fact the only choreographer to set works on Garth Fagan Dance, other than Mr. Fagan. 9 of these works held their world premiere at The Joyce Theatre in New York City to rave reviews. Of his work, the Village Voice said, “As you'd expect, Pennewell's movement and formal acuity are rooted in his mentor's style. But right away, there's a smart quirk…” The New York Times said, “Mr. Pennewell knows how to organize bodies. And he knows these bodies: their strengths, their weaknesses, their inclinations, in relation to a very particular way of moving.” Each work uses the Fagan Technique as a foundation and deftly shows Mr. Pennewell developing his craft by taking risks with musical choices and movement phrases in relationship to the music, lighting, and costuming. Pennewell’s work has demonstrated that he has successfully learned to focus on each individual dancer’s strengths and how to incorporate those strengths into his choreography. Mr. Pennewell also has a critical understanding of Garth Fagan Dance as a cutting-edge contemporary modern dance company. He is able to combine into his creative process the unique elements of the Fagan Technique with sophisticated concepts and movement invention.