BWW Reviews: SAVION GLOVER'S STEPZ at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College Looks to the Past for the Future of Tap

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College started off its 2013-2014 season with the bang of Savion Glover's tap shoes. The venue hosted a performance of Savion Glover's STePz on November 2nd. In the program, Glover listed himself simply as "hoofer, father, husband." Nevertheless, it is undeniable that Glover is a living icon. Glover first appeared on Broadway at the age of 12 in The Tap Dance Kid. By his early 20s, Glover was nominated for a Tony Award for his choreography Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk. Many millenials grew up watching Glover as a featured performer on Sesame Street and today's children see him as the man behind the tap-dancing penguin in Happy Feet.

In addition to Glover, this performance featuRed Marshall Davis Jr. and the "3 Controversial Women": Robyn Watson, Ayodele Casel, and Sarah Savelli. Each was introduced with a solo at the beginning of the first number and received significant stage time throughout the evening. Watson, Casel, and Savelli had an 'Anderson Sisters Moment' when they tackled "Bugle Call Rag"; Marshall shared the stage with Glover during several battle numbers. Still, Glover was undeniably the star. None of the other dancers could match Glover's intensity and his almost out-of-control physical style. The most memorable moments featured Glover dancing by himself. "Flamenco Sketches" started with perfect stillness except for a buzzing noise-Glover's toe tapping away. Legend has it that Ann Miller could tap 500 times a minute; it would be worth science's time to measure the speed of Glover's electric feet.

Unlike many of Glover's past productions, STePz did not feature live music. While recorded music does not foster the atmosphere of improvisation that Glover is known for, it did allow for a wide variety of accompaniment. Jazz dominated the majority of the evening but Glover and Co. also tapped their way through Dmitri Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony (Op. 110a) and the theme from Mission Impossible.

Midway through the second act, Glover shouted to the audience, "Not to mention, I stole everything that I'm doing." Glover's paired down style, devoid of elaborate sets and costumes-allowing the audience to focus on the rhythm itself-is often referred to as the future of tap. However, in STePz, Glover turned to the past for inspiration. In the playbill, Glover dedicated STePz to the memory of twenty tap dancers and musicians including Jimmy Slyde, Gregory Hines, Buster Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., and John Coltrane. Not credited in the program, Bill Robinson was a major presence beginning with the three wooden staircases that Glover and his crew danced up and down, finishing with Glover's solo to Sammy Davis Jr.'s "Mr. Bojangles." If the audience had not brushed up on its tap history recently, they still would have enjoyed the evening's program. Glover is a joyful performer, smiling throughout, and his delight is contagious. He clearly loves his medium and wants to spread that love to audiences around the country. Watching the smallest audience members jumping their way to the subway after the performance, it was definitive: Glover had clearly succeeded.

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