The New Yorker called him “the greatest tap virtuoso of our time, perhaps of all time.” Savion Glover is coming to Rochester and putting on his own program, STePz, at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre on March 21, and Rochester’s own dance virtuoso can’t wait.
“I just want to say that he is absolutely. Totally. Mesmerizingly. Fabulous,” said Garth Fagan, master choreographer, who broke into hearty chuckles throughout his discussion of Glover.
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Fagan is more than a fan. Garth Fagan Dance and Glover have shared programs together, and Fagan says he grew to know Glover’s mother “very well” tour with him when Glover was a boy. Yes, if you don’t know the story, Glover made his Broadway debut at age 10.
“I have seen too many of his shows to remember or recall,” said Fagan, “but it’s someplace in the 30s or 40s. And if I’m scrolling through the TV and I see Savion, I stop immediately, whatever I’m doing, to watch him.”
Another treat for local dancers, courtesy of the group hosting the show, Eastman Presents: Dancers could submit 30-second videos of themselves tap-dancing in exchange for 20 percent off a ticket.
Glover himself, recognized over generations of both casual and ardent fans of dance, was humble and understated when discussing his life and work.
“I started dancing when I was 7,” Glover said. Always an artistic child, he was involved in many activities when his mother signed him up for tap lessons. Yet a few short years later, he was studying with some of the masters, including Gregory Hines.
Like Hines before him, Glover has reached a level of fame and renown that’s unattainable for most dancers. Glover’s feet seem to catch fire when he dances, and his talent has made him a household name.
Hines, who passed away in 2003, rose to fame as a part of a duo with his older brother Maurice, then began working with the great entertainers of his day, like Sammy Davis Jr. Hines even ventured into acting, making his movie and comedic debut as Josephus in Mel Brooks’ History of the World, Part 1.
In some ways, Glover’s career parallels his mentor’s but even surpasses it. Glover, now 43, rose to fame in the 1990s as a recurring guest on Sesame Street. Around that time, he also choreographed and performed in a PBS special, Stomp, Slide, and Swing: In Performance at the White House, performing for the Clinton administration in 1998.
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He went on to choreograph and perform numerous works, including the 1996 Tony winner for Best Choreography Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk. A new work, Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, was nominated for a Tony last year in the same category.
“It would have won if it wasn’t for that whole Hamilton thing,” quipped Keith Elder, director of concert activities at Eastman School of Music, who programmed the Eastman Presents series.
You might consider the résumés of Hines and Glover and generously call it a tie. But one influential dancer would disagree. Hines himself had publically said that Glover is “possibly the greatest tap dancer ever to live.”
How does Glover feel about his high and public praise from his mentor — one of the most iconic dancers ever to live?
“Well, that’s his opinion,” Glover replied matter-of-factly. He went on to say that while he respects the opinions of the other greats of dance, he doesn’t let those opinions or anyone else’s affect what he does.
Glover said that he dances to pay tribute to those who came before him. He said he believes that all the greatest dancers preceded him, and that he is only doing his small part to share tap with the world. To that end, not only does he often begin routines by “quoting” elements and styles from his predecessors, he spends a great deal of time teaching and doing outreach in the community.
It’s something Fagan understands well. “Hallelujah. Hallelujah,” said Fagan. “He’s teaching the youngsters that this is something that they can embrace. They can add their opportunities, their impossibilities, and their lifestyle to (it) … They can add to tap and participate in it, and keep alive something that goes back to Bojangles — that far back — and that celebrates us as a people.”
Fagan went on to explain that Glover has been able to integrate his experience as an African-American man into his dance and demonstrate it unabashedly.
“He’ll quote Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, and even back to the drums of Africa,” Fagan continued. “All of that is there on the stage, if you know those forms to see and hear, and if you don’t, just enjoy them and be astonished by the beauty.”
Beyond all that, what makes him such a one-of-a-kind dancer? Possessing astounding technique is certainly a good start, but Glover has more to him that sets him apart.
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“First of all, his knowledge of traditional tap dancing is phenomenal,” Fagan said, followed by a laugh. “Then, after his little thank you’s and references with them, he dances traditionally and beautifully, and always rhythmically, and he blows it away. Out the stage, out the theater, out the state, out the country, and comes up with some phenomenal, youthful, in-your-face stuff that you’ve never seen before.”
Glover himself has no firm definition for what he does beyond tap — he just considers what he does as a culmination of his life and his experiences, put into dance.
As for this program, Glover still interweaves traditional tap, hallmarks of his predecessors, and contemporary and more abstract dance through his own developed technique.
But STePz is designed for a more casual and appreciative audience. It’s a fun, lighter show that doesn’t get bogged down with intricacy, yet doesn’t lose its punch. Thumping music and a dance troupe of nine accompanying Glover will be on full display.
“We’re ready to rock out,” Glover said.
Dan Gross is a Rochester-area freelance writer.
If you go
What: Tap-dancing legend Savion Glover brings his program STePz to Rochester.
When: 8 p.m., Tuesday March 21.
Where: Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, 26 Gibbs St., Rochester.
More: Tickets cost from $26 to $71. Available online at http://eastmantheatre.org/events/savion-glover-stepz/, by calling (585) 274-3000, or by visiting the box office at 26 Gibbs St., Rochester.
Source: https://t-tees.com
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