Savion Glover, Accompanied by Live Musicians, Taps to the Classics Feb. 8
January 18, 2007
Most people know tap wizard Savion Glover for his Tony Award-winning Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk and his fancy footwork in the hit movie Happy Feet. But in Classical Savion–a performance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, in Penn State's Eisenhower Auditorium–Glover dances solo with onstage string musicians performing works by Vivaldi, Bach, Mendelssohn, Dvorák, Bartók and Shostakovich. He tops it off by having a jazz quartet join in on his homage to the Johns (Coltrane and Sousa).
In addition to dancing to Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 and a Mendelssohn octet, Glover improvises to Bartók's Rumanian Folk Dances, Dvorák's American String Quartet and Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8.
Tickets for the Center for the Performing Arts presentation are $35 for an adult, $17 for a University Park student and $26 for a person 18 and younger. For tickets and information, visit www.cpa.psu.edu or phone (814) 863-0255. Outside the local calling area, dial 1-800-ARTS-TIX. Tickets are also available at Eisenhower Auditorium and Bryce Jordan Center, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; Penn State Tickets Downtown, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday; and HUB-Robeson Center, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays. University Park Allocation Committee makes Penn State student prices possible.
Glover has performed to classical works here and there throughout his career, but Classical Savion is the first time he has devoted a show to European composers.
Some people think Glover, who made his Broadway debut at age 12, is dancing to a routine in Classical Savion. But he insists the choreography–he refers to it as improvography–is entirely improvised. "It's from scratch every night for me," he says.
"Watching Glover think onstage and come up with ideas, you can see his eyes take on a kind of maniacal expression as he punches the air, or spins and slides, spirals sometimes, and abruptly changes direction," writes a Dance Magazine reviewer. "There is the Savion walk, fast paced in a large circle, as he lets loose a fusillade of taps preparing for the next groove. Most of all there is the wonder of watching and hearing a great percussionist of the feet interpret the classics."
Other than a couple of three-minute interludes to change shirts, Glover keeps moving for about an hour and forty-five minutes.
"Glover's virtuosity was thrillingly on view throughout, as was his enormous spirit," according to the Washington Post reviewer. "He looked aglow with sweet pleasure, facing the audience but frequently turning his smile toward the wings. But the beatific look was not to be confused with easygoing effort. Glover can soak a shirt like no one else."
Robert Moir, AIG VALIC sponsors the performance. WTAJ-TV 10 and WPSU are the media sponsors. Artistic Viewpoints, an informal moderated discussion featuring a visiting artist or local expert, is offered in Eisenhower Auditorium one hour before the performance and is free for ticket holders. Artistic Viewpoints regularly fills to capacity. Seating is available on a first-arrival basis.
Contact: Laura Sullivan, 814-863-6379