CMU School of Drama


Friday, April 08, 2016

Tap dancing icon Savion Glover keeps 'tradition' alive

bigstory.ap.org: At a recent rehearsal of a musical with a constellation of big stars, a wiry man in sweatpants with one leg rolled up stood up, stopped the action and made his way to the stage.

"OK," Savion Glover said calmly, as the dancers gathered around. "Listen to what I'm doing here."

He then let his big white tap shoes talk, tat-tatting a propulsive rhyme.

1 comment:

Vanessa Ramon said...

It was only last weekend as I was reading articles to write my weekly comments did I come across an article that made me stop and think about the decline in popularity the art of tap dance had seen in the past decade. Its hard for me to believe that an art form that is so complex and interesting has been quickly forgotten and neglected. I agree with what Glover says in this article, that tap dancing will never again be the pinnacle of the preforming arts, but as long as the performing arts are around, tap will be too. I think that it is great that there are still people like Glover around to keep the art from alive in the best way possible. I also really like what he said about working with the wonderful artists of a revival performance of "shuffle Along". He says that they don't want him to simplify the steps for them. I think that refusal to make it easier has a lot to say about the performers and their effort to keep the art form alive as well. Lastly, I love how Glover chooses to stay where he grew up to teach children tap. He is giving those kids an opportunity that he likely never had. I think that is beautiful.