Meeting the GREAT Savion Glover

I'm so excited to share this post! I had the honor and privilege of meeting one of the greatest tap dancers in the world. But, I almost missed my chance. Read more to find out my less than conventional mission to meet Savion Glover:

My best friend from high school facebook'ed me, asking if I wanted to go to a performance by Savion Glover. Of course I accepted, seeing as how there would be no way that I would pass up such an opportunity. If you aren't familiar, Savion Glover is a Tony Award-winning hoofer (tap dancer), choreographer, and producer. He's starred in the Broadway shows The Tap Dance Kid, Black and Blue, Jelly's Last Jam, and most famously, Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk. His film credits include Tap with Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis Jr., Bamboozled by Spike Lee, and Happy Feet. Bet you didn't know that it his was choreography in Happy Feet that helped the film to win numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

The history of tap dancing in America began in minstrel shows,"entertainment" that depicted blacks as lazy, silly, unintelligent, and very simplistic  creatures who loved to dance and sing. Whites would perform in black-face, in which shoe polish was applied to darken their skin and enlarge their lips. They'd also dress up in woolly wigs and vagrant clothing. A lot of black stereotypes were born and propagated because of these shows, which lasted as late as 1981.

Knowing this, I'm proud how tap dance has progressed in American culture. As a dancer I respect all forms of dance, especially tap. The classes that I took were definitely not my cup of tea; it isn't as easy as it looks and with most things, it takes supreme dedication to master it.

SoLe Sanctuary is a hoofer's mediation on the art of tap. Praise of the past tap legends is displayed by Glover (and later Marshall Davis) on a wooden altar, on which he gives reverence to the craft that he's perfected. And perfected he has. He never left the stage for the 2 hours of the show, which was 30 minutes more than stated. There wasn't much music, just simple melodies and a sound audio from Gregory Hines. There weren't any extravagant props, just 3 wooden altars, 2 for Glover and Marshall Davis Jr, and the other for a meditator, and a picture shrine of the late great African-American tap legends.

If I were only allowed to give one word to describe the show, it'd be soulful. Through his grooves, the audience is given raw tones and dynamic ranges, easily entertaining us with fluid toe-drops and animated grunts to accompany barrel turns, crossovers, brush steps, and my personal favorite, his infamous clusters at a rapid pace. As with most performances, the dancers appreciate crowd participation. Although I knew the performance would be held at Duke University, I didn't expect the audience to be so...boring! Yes, the show was during a late Wednesday evening. Yes, we'd all worked 8+ hours and were minutes away from running on fumes. But the moment Savion stepped on stage and started tapping his heart away, I perked up. Shanna and I clapped, danced in our seats, laughed, and shouted words of approval and encouragement. We were probably two of the 10 that actively participated. I do realize that people show their emotions differently but how one can sit still and just blink during the entire performance is beyond me!

After the performance, we left through one of the back exits. Earlier, we'd noticed a group of people standing at a back entrance. And the group was now entering through that back entrance. So Shanna and I hurriedly joined them. At the door was a man who asked me, "Are you in *****'s class?". Now, this is that moment in movies where time seems to stop and you have an out of body experience where you ask yourself, "Self, what are you going to say? Are you going to say no and not meet a legend or are you going to say yes and walk right in?" Well, I choose the latter. The man had no chance against me because nothing was going to stop me.

We then walked into a brightly lit dressing room. Inside were young tap dancers around the college age, a few adults, and Shanna and me. A couple people gave us curious glances but no one questioned our being there. After making small talk and waiting for about 20 minutes, in walks Marshall Davis Jr and Savion Glover. First impressions are lasting impressions and I was not disappointed. Both are extremely fit and agile with youthful appearances. They looked us all in the eyes as they smiled, shook each outstretched hand, signed autographs, and took pictures. I'm not going to lie, I probably looked like a giddy schoolgirl who just met her crush but I was just honored to meet them both, especially Savion Glover.

The lesson that I learned from this wonderful experience is that you must act as if you know where you're going in order to get there (even if you don't know the details). You can do all of the strategic planning that you want, but when the door of opportunity is open, you'd better not hesitate. Walk right in or get the door slammed in your face. Along with the disappointment of missed opportunities comes regret. I like to minimize  those feelings by CARPE DIEMING!

I hope you all enjoyed my little adventure. Comment and share some of your similar experiences where you had to be a quick thinker. And check out the link below of my all time favorite Glover performance. Peace loves!!!!