Savion Glover continues to expand the boundaries of tap, and in doing so he continues to shed new light on the musical forms to which he sets his performances. His work is the most exciting, fresh, and meaningful example of artistic/creative expression that I have had the thrill of witnessing.
I wrote the following after the last time I saw him:
Friday, March 12, 2004
There is a boy...
... a very talented, gifted boy.*
Well, he's a man actually, and his name is Savion Glover. I would pay to watch him walk down the street.
Let me back up. I went to see Glover, his band, and his co-ed dance troupe, Ti Dii (pronounced "tie dye"), tonight at the Masonic Auditorium, where they opened the San Francisco Jazz Festival. Glover, in addition to being the greatest living tap dancer - perhaps the greatest tap dancer who's ever lived - has branched out: he's now singing (during his stunningly physical performance, it is worth noting, he never appeared out of breath) after the fashion of Billie Holiday; he uses his voice primarily as an instrument. Thus, while he leads the band, he is the only person onstage simultaneously playing two instruments: feet and voice. He participates in the music as a band member rather than as a dancer for whom the band is providing accompaniment.
Glover helped me to realize, to understand, finally, what a small city San Francisco is. As I watched him I flashed back to the first two times I saw him live, in New York, in his brilliant, Tony Award-winning stage production, "Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk" (first at the Public Theatre [in '95] and then at the Ambassador [in '96 - on Broadway!]). Glover is an irretrievable New Yorker: there is no other city in the world that could satisfy (or perhaps give rise to) his energetic creative appetite, no other that could contain the artistic force he represents. I briefly wondered where he was staying in San Francisco, and tried to imagine what, if any, interest he might have in my little City by the Bay, which amazes me daily. I had to laugh, for I'm certain he finds San Francisco nothing more than quaint, hilly, and quiet. New York is where it's at, and if you don't agree, check out what it has produced in Savion Glover (not that he's going to be hanging around - this was a one-off show for SF).
This was my fourth time seeing him live (the third time was on his Footnotes tour at SF's Golden Gate Theater in 2001), and my opinion has been the same since I first heard the opening thumps of Noise/Funk: Savion Glover is the most exciting live performer on the planet. As I sat watching him do what he does - a mind-blowing combination of dance, percussion, improvisation, and sheer athleticism - my mind overflowed with things I wanted to write down to capture the energy he brought to the stage. But as I sit here now trying to remember all of the words and phrases that were floating around in my head, I draw a blank. I am overcome by the residual dazzle that Glover leaves in his wake. And the fact is, his energy, what he does, cannot be captured by language, which, for all of its possibilities, is too static a medium to get a handle on this wondrous soul.
Glover came onstage in loose-fitting tuxedo pants and a loose-fitting shirt of a pleasing blood orange hue, and of course his famous size 12 Capezios.
By the time he'd finished the first half of the program, in which he danced solo for forty-five minutes, sang, and orchestrated the movements of his formidable jazz band, his shirt appeared to be dark maroon. The amount of perspiration that gushed forth from his body could have been measured as rainfall - his head alone, crowned by dreadlocks that probably reach the middle of his back when they're down - generated a small waterfall. The athleticism of what he does - not only from a cardiovascular perspective, but given the impact to his bones and joints - is breathtaking. I read online this evening, in an article that originally appeared in the New York Times, that he loses about a pound a night when he's performing. I would love to know what his nutritional regiment is, and what sports doctor is keeping him in such fine form. He must have the body fat of a marathoner.
I'm saying a lot of nothing because, as I said, I'm still bedazzled. But I must add that his dreadlocks add a fourth dimension to the visual spectacle of his performance by doing their own little dance at the back of his head as he taps, pounds, stomps, glides, slides, and at times floats about the stage. The weight and density of his locks must amount to a bit of a burden when he's performing under high-intensity lighting; they probably account for half the perspiration that streams from his head while he's dancing. But thank goodness he's got them, because they truly make him flow (in more ways than one) from head to toe.
The brief interval featuring Ti Dii, three additional male and four female dancers, was exhilarating. Seeing hard-hitting women "hoofers" is a rare treat, and one senses that Glover has picked the best to dance alongside him. Michelle Dorrance was, in my opinion, the best of the women. Her foot articulation matched, if not surpassed, Glover's own, and even he seemed entranced as she danced her solo. He had all of the dancers line up and take the stage individually, introducing them by name halfway through their performances. While Dorrance danced, Glover was silent, and he remained so until the next dancer began and he realized that he had forgotten to say Dorrance's name. He said, "That was Michelle, y'all... Michelle ROC-co!"
Cartier Anthony Williams, the youngest member of the troupe, has been dancing with Glover for many years, and clearly is poised to be the next Savion. His footwork is stupefying, but I wonder whether he will be able to keep dancing on the sides of his feet when he is a big, tall man. Regardless, the speed with which he moves his feet announces that the next generation already has arrived.
But Glover remains the master, and as long as his body holds up, no other tap dancer will outshine him. He is pure, powerful genius.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
* "Nature Boy" by Nat King Cole [Glover's rendition]
There was a boy
A very strange, enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far
Very far, over land and sea
A little shy and sad of eye
But very wise was he
And then one day
One [very] day he passed my way
While we spoke of many things
Fools and Kings
This he said to me
The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return
Well, he's a man actually, and his name is Savion Glover. I would pay to watch him walk down the street.
Let me back up. I went to see Glover, his band, and his co-ed dance troupe, Ti Dii (pronounced "tie dye"), tonight at the Masonic Auditorium, where they opened the San Francisco Jazz Festival. Glover, in addition to being the greatest living tap dancer - perhaps the greatest tap dancer who's ever lived - has branched out: he's now singing (during his stunningly physical performance, it is worth noting, he never appeared out of breath) after the fashion of Billie Holiday; he uses his voice primarily as an instrument. Thus, while he leads the band, he is the only person onstage simultaneously playing two instruments: feet and voice. He participates in the music as a band member rather than as a dancer for whom the band is providing accompaniment.
Glover helped me to realize, to understand, finally, what a small city San Francisco is. As I watched him I flashed back to the first two times I saw him live, in New York, in his brilliant, Tony Award-winning stage production, "Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk" (first at the Public Theatre [in '95] and then at the Ambassador [in '96 - on Broadway!]). Glover is an irretrievable New Yorker: there is no other city in the world that could satisfy (or perhaps give rise to) his energetic creative appetite, no other that could contain the artistic force he represents. I briefly wondered where he was staying in San Francisco, and tried to imagine what, if any, interest he might have in my little City by the Bay, which amazes me daily. I had to laugh, for I'm certain he finds San Francisco nothing more than quaint, hilly, and quiet. New York is where it's at, and if you don't agree, check out what it has produced in Savion Glover (not that he's going to be hanging around - this was a one-off show for SF).
This was my fourth time seeing him live (the third time was on his Footnotes tour at SF's Golden Gate Theater in 2001), and my opinion has been the same since I first heard the opening thumps of Noise/Funk: Savion Glover is the most exciting live performer on the planet. As I sat watching him do what he does - a mind-blowing combination of dance, percussion, improvisation, and sheer athleticism - my mind overflowed with things I wanted to write down to capture the energy he brought to the stage. But as I sit here now trying to remember all of the words and phrases that were floating around in my head, I draw a blank. I am overcome by the residual dazzle that Glover leaves in his wake. And the fact is, his energy, what he does, cannot be captured by language, which, for all of its possibilities, is too static a medium to get a handle on this wondrous soul.
Glover came onstage in loose-fitting tuxedo pants and a loose-fitting shirt of a pleasing blood orange hue, and of course his famous size 12 Capezios.
By the time he'd finished the first half of the program, in which he danced solo for forty-five minutes, sang, and orchestrated the movements of his formidable jazz band, his shirt appeared to be dark maroon. The amount of perspiration that gushed forth from his body could have been measured as rainfall - his head alone, crowned by dreadlocks that probably reach the middle of his back when they're down - generated a small waterfall. The athleticism of what he does - not only from a cardiovascular perspective, but given the impact to his bones and joints - is breathtaking. I read online this evening, in an article that originally appeared in the New York Times, that he loses about a pound a night when he's performing. I would love to know what his nutritional regiment is, and what sports doctor is keeping him in such fine form. He must have the body fat of a marathoner.
I'm saying a lot of nothing because, as I said, I'm still bedazzled. But I must add that his dreadlocks add a fourth dimension to the visual spectacle of his performance by doing their own little dance at the back of his head as he taps, pounds, stomps, glides, slides, and at times floats about the stage. The weight and density of his locks must amount to a bit of a burden when he's performing under high-intensity lighting; they probably account for half the perspiration that streams from his head while he's dancing. But thank goodness he's got them, because they truly make him flow (in more ways than one) from head to toe.
The brief interval featuring Ti Dii, three additional male and four female dancers, was exhilarating. Seeing hard-hitting women "hoofers" is a rare treat, and one senses that Glover has picked the best to dance alongside him. Michelle Dorrance was, in my opinion, the best of the women. Her foot articulation matched, if not surpassed, Glover's own, and even he seemed entranced as she danced her solo. He had all of the dancers line up and take the stage individually, introducing them by name halfway through their performances. While Dorrance danced, Glover was silent, and he remained so until the next dancer began and he realized that he had forgotten to say Dorrance's name. He said, "That was Michelle, y'all... Michelle ROC-co!"
Cartier Anthony Williams, the youngest member of the troupe, has been dancing with Glover for many years, and clearly is poised to be the next Savion. His footwork is stupefying, but I wonder whether he will be able to keep dancing on the sides of his feet when he is a big, tall man. Regardless, the speed with which he moves his feet announces that the next generation already has arrived.
But Glover remains the master, and as long as his body holds up, no other tap dancer will outshine him. He is pure, powerful genius.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
* "Nature Boy" by Nat King Cole [Glover's rendition]
There was a boy
A very strange, enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far
Very far, over land and sea
A little shy and sad of eye
But very wise was he
And then one day
One [very] day he passed my way
While we spoke of many things
Fools and Kings
This he said to me
The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return
