Savion Glover: Soundz' Sacrosanct

Tonight on Fridays Live, SFJAZZ presents a tap dance genius and a Tony Award winner, Savion Glover. He returns to SFJAZZ with his new show SoUNDz’ SaCRoSaNcT, a heartfelt tribute to his mentor, friend, and teacher, the legendary Gregory Hines, as well as the legacy of the iconic dancers who pioneered and advanced the art form in the 1920s and 1930s.

It’s not only that [Glover's] power, speed and articulation are unsurpassed, his rhythms both trustworthy and surprising. His sound is somehow bigger, deeper. Its intensity cuts into you, implacably.
THE NEW YORK TIMES

ABOUT SAVION GLOVER
The Tony-winning phenomenon Savion Glover is “the greatest tap virtuoso of our time, perhaps of all time” (The New Yorker). For the first two nights of his residency, he presents his new project SoUNDz’ SaCRoSaNcT— a heartfelt tribute to his mentor, friend, and teacher, the legendary Gregory Hines, as well as the legacy of the iconic dancers who pioneered and advanced the art form in the 1920s and 1930s.

Beginning as a prodigious student of the great Honi Coles and the late Gregory Hines, who called him “possibly the best tap dancer that ever lived,” Savion Glover has been boldly breaking new ground for over 25 years. Only 12 when he appeared on Broadway in The Tap Dance Kid, Glover made his film debut alongside Hines and Sammy Davis Jr. in 1989’s Tap.

He received a 1992 Drama Desk nomination for his appearance in Jelly’s Last Jam on Broadway in which he shared the stage with Hines and became a cultural phenomenon in 1996 when George C. Wolfe showcased his dazzling rhythmic dexterity in Bring in 'Da Noise/Bring in 'Da Funk (which earned Glover a Tony Award for Best Choreography). There are precious few artists who embody, redefine, and radically expand their art form, but Glover stands tall as an elemental creative force who has returned tap to its roots while opening vast expanses for fresh exploration.