Savion Glover manages to do what "A Fifth of Beethoven" from "Saturday Night Fever" fails to accomplish: combine great classical music with percussive elements. Glover, widely considered one of the greatest tap dancers alive, performed "Classical Savion" to a packed house in Washington's decadent Warner Theatre. The two-hour show featured Glover dancing to famous classical works in front of a nine-piece string ensemble.
Some in the audience knew Glover as the man who "taught Elmo how to dance." Before becoming a regular on "Sesame Street" for five seasons, Glover burst into the spotlight in 1996 with his award winning Broadway production, "Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk." Most recently, he starred in Spike Lee's "Bamboozled" and was the feet of Mumbles, the dancing penguin in "Happy Feet."
Glover, with an open dress shirt, conservative black pants and long dreadlocks bound up in a nest of hair, burst into Vivaldi's "Summer" arrangement of "The Four Seasons." As opposed to his trademark appearance of long dreads flying everywhere, he appeared slightly more restrained than usual. However, it soon became clear that restraint was just the precise control Glover maintained over his feet. No move was a mistake-everything was planned and exact.
Glover also danced to "Autumn" and "Winter," which were equally as captivating as the first. Sometimes leading, sometimes accenting, Glover showed a didactic range of beats, taps and stomps. In many ways he personified what many students do by banging their hands along to the beat of song.
During one song, he made a kind of galloping beat and imitated riding a horse. This delighted the 400 elementary school students in attendance.
After the more well-known Vivaldi, Glover diversified the program with selections of Dvorák, Bach, Shostakovich and Mendelssohn. One of the most fun and entertaining numbers was Bartok's "Rumanian Folk Dances, SZ 68, BB 76," otherwise known as "Fugue" on old Nokia phones.
To keep up with the frantic pace, Glover was accompanied by another dancer and had a flutist playing along. The footwork of the always-smiling Glover mesmerized the audience. Fred Astaire really would have had nothing on this guy.
The concert probably should have ended after the classical music concluded. Instead, there was a second intermission, and after returning, Glover introduced every member of the band-which grew to a dozen people-with a couple minutes of improvisation and Glover trying to dance and respond, which wasn't always entertaining.
The show finished with a composition of Glover's called "Stars and Stripes Forever 4 Now." The title reflects Glover's love of the new school.
This minor programming misstep was the only one of the evening. "Classic Savion" is a dynamic and interactive performance that is well worth seeing. Savion Glover is a master of percussive dance; he will surely continue to impress for many years. Shows like this are reinventing the genre and impressing audiences, and Glover should be commended.
