If there's one dance event not to miss in Rochester this year, it's the world premiere of the latest piece by Garth Fagan Dance (454-3260, garthfagandance.org) at the unveiling of the $10 million Nazareth Arts Center on Saturday, September 26. Garth Fagan Dance will perform Tony and Olivier Award-winning choreographer Fagan's piece to the live accompaniment of the Grammy Award-winning Ying Quartet, to whose music Fagan set the dance. Hey, New Yorkers may actually come to us for this one. At $150, tickets for the gala may thin your wallet out a bit. But isn't it worth it to have a mid-sized theater that both Garth Fagan Dance and Rochester City Ballet can call home? Dig deep and treat yourself to a festive night; the evening also includes performances by Rochester City Ballet and Rochester Children's Theatre. Make sure you catch Fagan's fabulous dancers again during their regular season, December 2-6 at Nazareth, for a longer program that will include a revival of "Landscape of Ten," set to Brahms' Violin Concerto.

Some stunning dance may also be seen for free during the weeklong opening celebration at Nazareth Arts Center (4245 East Ave, 389-2525, naz.edu/artscenter) . You may not have heard of Borinquen Dance Theatre (borinquendancetheatre.org), although they have been performing in the Northeast U.S. and Canada for more than 25 years. But you won't soon forget them. This local company -- directed by Nydia Padilla-Rodriguez who danced for Garth Fagan in the earliest days of his company -- embraces Puerto Rican culture and Latino dance with a passion that translates into an irrepressible joie de vivre on stage. Did I mention the gorgeous costumes? The performance takes place on Tuesday, September 29, as part of the Arts Center's weeklong opening celebration.

Returning to Nazareth for the fourth time is the internationally known Jose Limon Dance Company (limon.org), a group that underscores the profound Latino influence in contemporary dance. Limon was one of the pioneers in the modern dance movement and conceived his NYC-based company with Doris Humphrey in 1946. The Limon technique is a guiding tenet to much of today's modern dance. The November 6 performance at Naz will include "The Moor's Pavane," Limon's celebrated piece inspired by Shakespeare's "Othello" and set to music by Henry Purcell.

Another company that should be on your must-see list is Colleen Hendrick's Bush Mango Drum and Dance (34 Elton St, 235-3960, bushmango.com), a group that underscores the depth and power of traditional West African dance and drumming with its enormously engaging and immediately assessable performances. Hendrick's artistic philosophy stresses the unique differences among people and the importance of music and dance as a uniting force. The to-do lists running through your head will be dispelled by the oceanic pull of rhythm and movement rising and falling around you, and you will not be able to keep your hands still in your lap, nor the grin off your face. And why should you? The December 10-12 show will find many of us already scurrying around on holiday errands. Bush Mango can be an antidote to that.

Plan on taking both your parents and your kids to this one: Bill Evans (billevansdance.org), master of tap, will inspire them all in a performance celebrating his age - 70! Unbelievable. Sit close to the stage and let his footwork mesmerize you. Evans, who has received awards from both the Guggenheim Fellowship and the National Endowment for the Arts, has choreographed more than 200 works for professional modern dance, ballet, and tap companies, and has performed in all 50 states. Since 2004 he has been the guest artist in the dance program at the College of Brockport. Last year he re-established his own company of 30 years here in Rochester. Catch him and his company, Bill Evans Dance, on April 10-11 at the Strasser Studio at SUNY Brockport's Hartwell Hall.

[ CALENDAR HIGHLIGHTS] COMPILED BY KATHY LALUK

BioDance Local contemporary dance collective stages its fall show, with choreography by Missy Pfohl Smith, Fri-Sat Sep 25-26 at Calkins Road Middle School, 1899 Calkins Rd, Pittsford. Fri 8 p.m., Sat 2 p.m. $5-$15. biodance.org.

FlowerCity Ballet Dec 19-20: Performance of "The Nutcracker." East Bloomfield High School, Oakmount Ave, Bloomfield. Times and tix TBD. 325-2114, flowercityballet.com.

Garth Fagan Dance The award-winning, world-renowned troupe is one of the main performers Sat Sep 26 at the Nazareth Arts Center Gala, 6-9 p.m., $150; look for the debut of new piece set to music of the Ying Quartet. Also performing Wed-Sun Dec 2-6, $30-$55 | Nazareth College Arts Center, 4245 East Ave. garthfagandance.org.

HochsteinSchool of Dance Annual Dance Gala Fri Dec 11. Hochstein Performance Hall, N. Plymouth Ave. 7:30 p.m. Free. 454-4596, hochstein.org.

NazarethCollegeArtsCenter With its $10 million renovations completed, the Nazareth College Arts Center has become the area hub for major-league dance performances. The new season kicks off with the Center Gala on Sat Sep 26 featuring performances by companies-in-residence Garth Fagan Dance, Rochester City Ballet, and others. Following that the weeklong opening celebration includes performances by a variety of local dance troupes as part of Community Festival Day (Sun Sep 27, noon-4 p.m., free), Borinquen Dance Theatre (Tue Sep 29, 7 p.m. free), Iroquois Spirit Dancers (Wed Sep 30, 7 p.m., free), and Ashe Cultural Center's performance of "The Origin of Life on Earth: An African Creation Myth (Thu Oct 1, 7 p.m., free). | Fri Oct 30: Shaolin Warriors, 8 p.m., $40-$70 | Also performing: Fri Nov 6: José Limón Dance Company, 8 p.m., $35-65 | Fri Nov 13: Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company, 8 p.m., $30-$60 | Dec 2 (7:30 p.m.), Dec 3-4 (8 p.m.) and Dec 5 (2 & 8 p.m.): Garth Fagan Dance, $35-$55 | Coming in Spring 2010: Rochester City Ballet makes its bow at the new theater in Feb with "Peter and the Wolf"; Thomas/Ortiz Dance (Feb); Moscow Festival Ballet (Mar); and a massive dance festival comer the summer. | Callahan Theater, Nazareth College Arts Center, 4245 East Ave. 389-2170, naz.edu/artscenter.

Park Avenue Dance Company The local company participates in the grand opening of the Nazareth Arts Center on Community Festival Day Sun Sep 27 with performances at 1:30 & 2:30 p.m., free, 4245 East Ave. | Also performing Sun Nov 15, 3 p.m., at Artisan Works, 565 Blossom Rd. $12. 288-7170, parkavenuedancecompany.org.

Rochester Broadway Theatre League Thu Dec 17: Moscow Ballet's "Great Russian Nutcracker," 8 p.m., $27.50-67.50 | Coming in 2010: Mar 2-4: "Riverdance" (Mar 2-4). Auditorium Theatre, 885 E. Main St. 222-5000, rbtl.org.

RochesterCity Ballet In addition to participating in the unveiling of the new Nazareth Arts Center, the RCB will join the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for their annual collaboration on Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker' Nov 27-29 at the also-renovated Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Fri-Sun 2 & 7 p.m. $15-$62. 461-5850, rochestercityballet.org.

Smith Opera House If you can't get enough "Nutcracker," the Smith in Geneva is offering up at least two different takes on it, Sun Nov 29 with the Ithaca Ballet and Finger Lakes Symphony Orchestra (3 p.m., tix TBD) and Sat-Sun Dec 5-6 brought in by Studio for the Performing Arts (Sat 7:30 p.m., Sun 2:30 p.m., tix TBD). Also playing: Sat Oct 24: Ballet Jorgen "Anastasia," based on the story of the Russian princess, 8:15 p.m., tix TBD. 82 Seneca St., Geneva. 315-781-5483, thesmith.org.

SUNY Brockport Brockport's dance program is one of the tops in the region; check out what the students are working on at "Dance/Strasser" (Tue-Thu Oct 13-15), in which the audience is invited to give feedback to the dancers in talkback sessions. Also showing: Sep 23-25: "Gallim Dance" | Oct 13-15: "Dance/Strasser" | Oct 29-31: "Dance/Hartwell" | Nov 18-21: "Danscore," featuring choreography by the Brockport dance faculty | Dec 4-5: New Dancers' Showcase | Dec 9-10: "Dime-a-Dance" | Coming in 2010: "Bill Evans 70" (Apr 10-11) and Sankofa African Drum and Dance(Apr 22-25) | All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. in Hartwell Hall, SUNY Brockport, 350 New Campus Dr, Brockport. $8-$12. 395-ARTS, brockport.edu.

SUNY Geneseo begins its Limelight & Accents Performing Arts Series with the world-renowned contemporary dance troupe Parsons Dance Company on Sep 19, followed by Golden Dragon Acrobats on Nov 7. | Coming in 2010: urban percussion/modern tap group The Rhythmics (Mar 27). | Wadsworth Auditorium, SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo. 245-5873, geneseo.edu/limelightandaccents.