Press Releases

KEEPING TAP ALIVE AT REICHHOLD CENTER

February 14, 2007

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    Tap dancing ambassador Savion Glover hoofs his way to Reichhold Center for the Arts on Saturday, March 10, 2007 at 8 p.m.
    The genius of Glover’s feet can go from zero to more than 50 taps in under 10 seconds. Long-limbed and deadlock-wearing, the 34-year-old is known to extend his tapping marathon for two straight hours—stopping only to wipe away dripping sweat. Like a well oiled machine, the Newark, N.J., native moves with agility and intensity. 
    Glover has said, “My style is young. Funk. I feel like it's one of my responsibilities to keep the dance alive, to keep it out there, to keep the style.”
    In 2006, Glover’s dance moves caught on with the “Happy Feet” generation. Youngsters, after seeing the movie, emulated Mumbles, the loveable, dancing penguin whom Glover brought to life through his signature movements. 
    Glover’s other movie credits include 2001’s “Bojangles,” a film based on the life of tap legend Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and 1989’s “Tap,” with his mentor, the late Gregory Hines. 
    Glover, the quintessential performer, choreographer, director and producer, has been tapping at the hearts of many since his childhood years on Broadway.
    The tap prodigy made his Broadway debut in “The Tap Dance Kid.” At 15, he was nominated for a Best Actor at the Tony Awards for his work in 1989’s “Black and Blue,” making him one of the youngest males ever to be nominated. In 1992, Glover played a young Jelly Roll Morton opposite Hines in “Jelly’s Last Jam.”
    Glover’s successful run on Broadway culminated with a 1996 Tony Award for his choreography of “Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk.”
    Away from Broadway, Glover’s taps flourish in eclectic environments. Often called, “the man who saved tap,” Glover can effortlessly switch from the improvisation of jazz to the freestyle of rap and hip-hop rhythms to the ordered genius of classical music.
    The tap master hoofed it out in “If Trane Wuz Here,” a tribute to John Coltrane, and “Jazz in Motion: Tappin’ into Monk,” Lincoln Center’s homage to Thelonious Monk.
    Glover currently tours with his jazz band, The Otherz, as well as with living jazz legend McCoy Tyner. In addition, for his trademark show “Classical Savion,” the tap master is accompanied by his 10-member orchestra, playing classic masters such as Vivaldi, Bach and Mendelssohn. 
    A graduate of Newark Arts High School and a former student of the Broadway Dance Center, Glover shares his love of tap through his dance companies, NYOT, meaning “Not Your Ordinary Tappers” and Ti Dii.
    Glover’s appearance at Reichhold Center is sponsored by First Bank, First Insurance, Marriott Frenchman’s Reef Resort, Tropical Shipping, and the Virgin Islands Council for the Arts.
    Tickets are available at Modern Music, Parrot Fish, Urban Threadz, UVI Bookstore, V.I. Bridal & Tuxedo and the Reichhold Center Box Office at 693-1559.

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