Savion Glover
By Darlene
Donloe
Tap dancing sensation
Savion Glover never uttered a word as he took the stage last night for An Evening With Savion Glover & Jack
DeJohnette at the Valley Performing Arts Center in Northridge, located on
the campus of California State University, Northridge (CSUN).
In actuality he
didn’t have to articulate a thing.
Everything he needed to say – was heard loud and clear as he tapped his
heart out – allowing his feet to do the talking for him.
What he said
through his interpretive brand of tap is up for debate. But, what isn’t up for
debate is the caliber of Glover’s sensational footwork. He’s mesmerizing! He’s innovative! He’s
brilliant!
With his
signature long dreads draped atop his head and donned in black slacks, a black
short-sleeved tee, a striped red and white shirt and, of course, his beige tap
shoes – Glover, 42, showed exactly why he is considered a master of his craft. He’s
the man who took tap to new heights and made it cool and popular again.
Glover (The Tap Dance Kid, Bring in ’da Noise, Bring in ’da Funk) performed
magical feats with his feet. He tapped fast, he tapped slow, he slid across the
stage, he hopped, he jumped, he doubled his timing, he tripled his timing. He
did the thang!
The 2016
Ambassador of Dance at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Glover left it
all on the stage. Drenched in his sweat, the hoofer, who recently choreographed
the Broadway musical, Shuffle Along,
starring Audra McDonald and directed by George C. Wolfe, performed with an
inexhaustible abandonment, never easing up in his efforts.
Glover is a bad
boy! It doesn’t get any gooder than
Glover’s bad!
Joining him on
stage for a tap off and as an added attraction was former Star Search winner
Marshall Davis Jr., who has danced with Glover for years, including in Bring in ’da Noise, Bring in ’da Funk.
After Glover’s
first set, Grammy winner Jack DeJohnette took the stage with bassist Jerome
Harris and pianist George Colligan. The
trio’s jazzy, melodic sound engulfed the Valley Performing Arts Center with songs
like Blue.
The blending of
Glover’s tap and DeJohnette’s drumming proved to be a hit, as the appreciative
crowd, which included beloved actor and hoofer Dick Van Dyke, frequently
hooted, clapped and gave several standing ovations.
Jack DeJohnette
The real treat
of the evening was when Glover and DeJohnette, who is considered one of the
greatest drummers in the industry, did a challenge. Glover would tap and DeJohnette would follow on
drums with the same rhythm. Later
Glover, Davis, DeJohnette, Harris and Colligan all performed together in a jam
session crescendo that brought down the house.
An Evening With Savion Glover & Jack
DeJohnette was a
fulfilling and incredible evening of theater.
On the DONLOE
SCALE: D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likeable), O (oh, yeah)
and E (excellent) An Evening With Savion
Glover & Jack DeJohnette gets an E (excellent).
