Truly Astonishing Feat: Tapper Extraordinaire Savion Glover Gets 'ALL FuNKD' UP,' Phenomenally, at the Mac -- Chicago Dance Review

Dance Concert Review

Savion Glover
ALL FuNKD' UP
featuring Dance Candy (band)
McAninch Arts Center at
College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL
November 26, 2017
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Having once again been boggled by the beyond amazing Savion Glover, Sunday afternoon at the Mac, I was going to begin my review by saying something along the lines of:

As oft shared on these pages, I have been fortunate to have seen some of the greatest performers of our time—and perhaps even all-time—in a variety of idioms.

From musicians and singers in many genres, to some of the most acclaimed actors, actresses & comedians, to superstar athletes in several fields, to Cirque du Soleil acrobats and others with rare & amazing talents, I have witnessed—live and in person—virtuosity in myriad forms.

Yet while I reserve the right to be contradictorily hyperbolic as the inspiration arises, there has been no one more jaw-droppingly, mind-blowingly impressive at his or her craft than tap dancer Savion Glover. At least from a visceral standpoint.

All photos by Seth Arkin. Please do not repost without
permission and attribution.

But in looking at my last review of Glover in concert—from January 2014 at Chicago's Harris Theatre—I found that's exactly what I wrote then.

Certainly, I will carry forth conveying as best I can—while employing some different words—what made Savion Glover's latest production, titled ALL FuNKD' UP, so special.

But at the center remains Glover's almost indescribable speed, rhythm, talent and stamina when it comes to tap dancing or—as dancer & tap expert Lane Alexander suggested as better terminology in an excellent pre-show discussion, noting how Savion has largely reshaped an art long associated with chorus lines—“foot drumming.”

And while I was graciously allowed to take photos from the wings of the beautifully refurbished Belushi Performance Hall—named for John & Jim, who attended the College of DuPage, at which the McAninch Arts Center resides—I didn't feel at liberty to shoot video of a new show that could have grander aspirations.

So for those completely unaware of this brilliant artist, who first appeared on Broadway at the age of 10 and seems to still be renowned—at 44—as the best tap dancer in the world, I suggest you take a look at this video clip, among many others on YouTube.

Though it should give a good sense of Savion Glover’s prodigious abilities, in the 2-1/2 minute clip he dances without any musical accompaniment.

At the Mac—and it was clearly quite a coup for COD to get this Midwest Premiere—Glover spent almost all of his 75 minutes on stage in constant motion accompanied, and often rhythmically inspired, by a 6-member band dubbed Dance Candy. 

I almost said he was "backed by a band," but that would be inaccurate as through his foot drumming Glover was clearly one of the musicians.

The dancer's reverence for the late great jazz saxophonist John Coltrane has long been apparent, so it was fitting that after a brief warm-up, ALL FuNKD' UP began with a live take on Trane's masterful interpretation of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s "My Favorite Things," with Samantha Reed on vocals.

Before the show Alexander spoke about how Glover’s spirituality comes through in his percussive dancing, and witnessing his often transcendent movements and intense focus furthered my sense of his connection to Coltrane.

Likely most famed for his spiritual masterpiece, A Love Supreme, the jazzman died in 1967, but in 2005 at Ravinia I saw Savion tap alongside legendary pianist McCoy Tyner, who had played in Coltrane's classic quartet. And my sister Allison, who attended with me on Sunday, had seen a show in which Glover even more directly paid tribute to the saxophonist.

With the musicians onstage, including Glover, taking solo turns—à la a great jazz combo—"My Favorite Things" lasted about 20 minutes.

Savion would often accompany the others' soloing, and when he locked in with drummer Joshua McCormick it was particularly scintillating.

When the action finally stilled for the first time, Glover warmly welcomed the crowd but—battling some laryngitis—said he would "let my feet do the talking." Although later, he did introduce the rest of Dance Candy. 

In addition to Reed and McCormick, members include guitarist Steven Boone, bassist Derrick Englert, pianist Calvin Keys and Mark Ingraham on horns & percussion. (See the Dance Candy Facebook page.)

The songs performed weren't listed in the show program, so I can only cite what I recognized, and often there seemed to be just snippets of things. But Ingraham's trumpet sublimely drove the classic melody from Coltrane's "Blue Train."

I also picked up The Doors' "Break on Through" in one of Englert's bass lines, and without matching anything exactly, Boone blasted out some Jimi Hendrix-type riffs.

About 40 minutes into the performance, Glover—who had been the only dancer to that point—was joined by Marshall Davis, Jr. and Robyn Watson.

Both are outstanding tap dancers in their own right, and had featured far more prominently in Glover's sTePz show at the Harris in 2014.

Davis was also part of Savion's Bare Soundz production I'd seen at North Central College in 2008.

Watching the three of them onstage together—foot drumming individually, in pairs and all at once—was exhilarating, and hearkened to past Glover showcases involving considerably more group tapping.

But Davis and Watson were offstage after just 10 minutes or so, leaving Savion to provide a whole lot of sole on his own.

He and Dance Candy sizzled on the last two numbers of the night—actually afternoon, as the show began at 4:00pm at the tail of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

A full run through Michael Jackson's "Beat It" took me back to 1983, when MJ ruled the world and enlisted Eddie Van Halen to add a blazing guitar solo, which Boone did a nice job with as Reed sang and Glover stomped gloriously almost non-stop.

Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," by way of Whitney Houston and, here, Samantha Reed, closed out a 75-minute performance that was sensational in every foot-tapping-at-the-speed-of-sound moment.

In having introduced Savion, the Mac's Executive Director Diana Martinez noted that Glover would be conducting a Master Class for some COD dance students after his performance.

I can only imagine that was incredibly enlightening, as was Lane Alexander's lecture beforehand.

Though I absolutely loved what I witnessed, I've never been great at interpreting messages of Interpretive Dance, and apart from Glover's spirituality and musicianship, I can't say I discerned any cogent themes on Sunday.

Allison, who had turned me onto Glover—who I've now seen live six times, originally in Bring In 'Da Noise Bring In 'Da Funk, which told the story of black history—also didn't discern any narrative thread to ALL FuNKD' UP, but noted that much of the music driving it was by gifted performers who had died relatively young.

John Coltrane, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison.

I don't know if a tangible statement tied to this truth was intended by Savion Glover or Dance Candy, as much as mainly just to get "all funkd up" to music they hold dear.

But exacerbated by the blur Glover became in most of the photos I took of him, I couldn't help but be reminded that life is fleeting, especially for many of our most visionary performers.

While he seems as spry and fantastic as ever, it is with such ephemerality in mind I strongly advocate that any chance you get to see the extraordinary Savion Glover, you really shouldn't miss out.

He's that singular.

Everything Was Beautiful at the Ballet: Joffrey Articulates Its Artistry with 'Unique Voices' -- Chicago Dance Review

Dance / Ballet Review

Unique Voices
Joffrey Ballet
Auditorium Theatre, Chicago
February 21, 2015
(Other performance dates; Run ended)
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I appreciate artistry--and especially virtuosity--in a wide variety of forms.

So beyond the rock concerts and musical & dramatic theater that comprise the bulk of my live entertainment diet, each year I try get to a combined handful or two of classical, opera, jazz and blues events.

Dance, however, has been much more sporadic as a spectator occurrence. I've averaged less than one dance performance per year--of any kind--and that includes having seen the mind-blowing tap dancer Savion Glover on five separate occasions.

Besides dance-class performances my sister has participated in, and other local troupe events she has encouraged me to attend--both predominantly in a tap vein--most other dance shows I've seen have been out of the U.S., whether a tango show in Buenos Aires, the Plataforma Samba show in Rio, a ballet (Don Quixote) within the Vienna Opera House or the famed Ballet Folklorico of Mexico City.

Other than being taken to The Nutcracker as a kid, until Saturday afternoon the only ballet I've been to domestically was Giselle, by the Kirov Ballet in 2008 at the Auditorium in Chicago, primarily because I didn't get to see a performance by the world renowned troupe when in St. Petersburg, Russia earlier that year.

Photo Credit on all: Cheryl Mann; dancers shown may not be the same
as those I saw at the Feb. 21, 2pm performance

Although I would never be dismissive of dance, and often love it within the context of musical theater--and have also seen Riverdance and the more recent Heartbeat of Home--the fact is that I haven't sought out ballet, modern dance or other performance forms with nearly the frequency or curiosity as I have other cultural events.

I tend to prefer clearly narrative entertainment to more interpretive forms--including Cirque du Soleil and similar shows--so with all the events I do go to each year (including a good number of baseball games each season), constraints of time and money have further conspired to limit my live dance intake.

So although Chicago's Joffrey Ballet is one of the most acclaimed in the world, and the Hubbard Street Dance Company is similarly esteemed in modern dance forms, I had never attended a performance of either.

On various occasions, doing so seemed like something I should do, but never to the point of taking action.

But especially as the production I did see and am ostensibly reviewing--the Joffrey's Unique Voices--has ended its string of shows at the Auditorium, I am writing this just as much to suggest that I seek out a bit more ballet and other dance performances as I am suggesting that others may enjoy doing so as well.

It's not really an excuse, but part of my problem was that I never really knew where to start.

And wasn't ever all that motivated to find out.

But in December, my mom, sister and I attended the Auditorium's 125th Anniversary Celebration, predominantly to see Broadway legend Patti LuPone.

Patti was magnificent, but so too was the entire event, which featured performances by Chicago cultural institutions that once did and/or still call the Auditorium home--including long-ago past tenants the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Lyric Opera.

Dance, a longtime staple of the venue, was majestically represented by Vernard J. Gilmore of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and from the Joffrey, Rory Hohenstein and Christine Rocas delectably performing a number from Romeo and Juliet.

After I wrote a rave review of the Auditorium's Living the History show and shared it--as is my norm--via Facebook and Twitter, Rocas favorited my Tweet. (I had mentioned her among several others in my article, but hadn't directed the Tweet toward her, but rather only to the Auditorium Twitter feed.)

This tickled me--or should I say, had me all a-Twitter--and I instantly imagined trying to interview her for a blog piece, but either noticed or presumed that she would soon be in rehearsal for a full Joffrey production, so I never reached out to her.

But both the Romeo and Juliet performance and Rocas' social (media) grace prompted me to eventually peruse what was upcoming from the Joffrey.

Which is a rather superfluous way of explaining what brought me to Unique Voices for a matinee on Saturday afternoon. (I was happy to score a good ticket in a box near the stage for the lowest price point--just $32--but the cavernous Auditorium surprisingly turned out to be nearly half empty.)

Before I sound like a stalker, I should explain that I really didn't research if Rocas was in Unique Voices before I bought a ticket, though was happy to find that she was (although in fewer pieces at the Saturday matinee than at other performances of this run).

But whatever the stimulation, motivation, provocation, etc., I'm really glad I went.

The program featured three dances, the first titled Maninyas, choreographed by Stanton Welch and staged by Louise Lester to music in a classical vein by Ross Edwards.

This number had 10 dancers, in male/female pairs. At risk of sounding like the neophyte that I am, Maninyas seemed to have something of a Latin (or perhaps Spanish) strain in the dance forms and costumes; see the nearby photo. 

I enjoyed the piece, which illustrated that ballet isn't only danced in tutus, something further proven by the next number.

All the dancers in Maninyas seemed terrific to me, but based on Saturday's matinee cast list, I believe a ballerina named Mahallia Ward was the most notably featured (apologies for any misidentification). 

Much more obvious was the prima ballerina of the next number, as there was only one woman along with three men.

At this point in my fledgling balletic--and overall dance--appreciation, I can't deny that the music is intrinsic in engaging me, more than any specific dance-step interpretation or appreciation beyond "OMG!" mental exhortations for all the beautiful bodies doing astonishing things.

So it was a delight that the second piece was called The Man in Black and featured the quartet of dancers performing to several Johnny Cash songs, under the choreography of James Kudelka and staging by Gerard Charles.

I came to love Cash in the last few years before his death and the dozen since, more than I ever really appreciated him through the bulk of his legendary career (granted much of it was "before my time").

So although I now relish "I Walk the Line," "Ring of Fire," "Sunday Morning Coming Down" and much of his earlier oeuvre, I fully embraced the late-career, largely cover songs of his American Recordings albums that the Joffrey principally utilized.

And beyond the wondrous dancing, I was able to even further appreciate the brilliance of Cash's cover interpretations, on the Beatles' "In My Life," "Sam Hall"--an English folk song he recorded in both 1965 and 2002--the more recent folk classic "Four Strong Winds," Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind," Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" and Bruce Springsteen's "Further on Up the Road," which also abetted my regard for my greatest musical hero, given that it's a relatively lesser-known song from The Rising that Cash imbues with an extra level of sagacity.

Far be it from me to be able to intelligently assess the finer points of ballet, but I really loved what I saw and heard.

Joanna Wozniak--cited in the program as being from Rolling Meadows and the only Chicago area native in the current troupe that includes dancers from Turkey, the Republic of Georgia, Brazil, Australia, Cuba and many other places around the world and U.S.--was accompanied by Derrick Agnoletti, Edson Barbosa and Fernando Duarte.

Though the dance interpretations to the songs weren't primarily acute, I enjoyed how the quartet replicated horse trots on "Four Strong Winds," matched the "a-swingin' I must go" lyric of "Sam Hall" with swinging steps and, most dramatically, to Cash's phenomenal take on "Hurt," portrayed the pain addiction inflicts not only on the user--as deftly embodied by Barbosa--but those who try to provide help, support and love.

It seems probable I won't ever see The Man in Black piece again, at least by a world-class ballet troupe, so I'm especially glad I did.

The third and final number of Unique Voices--titled Tulle, choreographed by Alexander Ekman and featuring numerous dancers including Rocas in a prominent role--was also fascinating and fantastic.

Staged by Marie-Louise Sid-Sylwander and Joakim Stephenson, with some rather haunting music by Mikael Karlsson, Tulle is--per the program notes--"a loving commentary on ballet where Alexander Ekman explores the coded world of classical ballet ... [and] enables the audience to rethink the way in which we perceive ballet."

There is a large cast of dancers in tutus, but also the sounds of a static-laden radio broadcast and video screens that at time show ballerinas speaking candidly about their art--and fears.

"What if they laugh at me; what if they throw tomatoes at me; I have a love/hate relationship with my point shoes," impart a pair of dancers, one of whom I'm pretty sure was Christine Rocas.

The unique A/V accoutrement to Tulle also served to enlighten that ballet began as a social dance form--not a theatrical one--done by aristocrats at official functions as proof of their stature, with King Louis XIV of France said to have been an excellent ballet dancer.

Tulle also had a segment centered around a circus couple enacted by Ogulcan Borova and Amanda Assucena, with the latter pirouetting at least 25 straight revolutions at one point in the most demonstrably impressive spectacle of the entire show.

Altogether, the 2-hour performance--inclusive of two 15-minute intermissions--was rather scintillating.

I effusively bestowed a standing ovation at the end of Tulle--in appreciation for it and the earlier pieces--but was puzzled as to why I was in the vast minority of those, aptly, given what we had witnessed, on their feet.

When opportunity allows, I certainly wouldn't mind viewing a full-work ballet such as Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet or, once again, Giselle or The Nutcracker.

But for what I surmise to be described as contemporary ballet, with innovative pieces fueled by the imagination of gifted choreographers, stagers and dancers, Unique Voices spoke to me in a powerful way.

So while I still doubt I will become a ballet regular, Joffrey subscriber or dance aficionado, I hope it's sooner than later that I come back to take another spin.

Tapping into the Genius of Savion Glover -- Chicago Dance Review

Dance Review

Savion Glover's STePz
Harris Theater, Chicago
January 24, 2014

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As oft shared on these pages, I have been fortunate to have seen some of the greatest performers of our time--and perhaps even all-time--in a variety of idioms.

From musicians and singers in many genres, to some of the most acclaimed actors, actresses & comedians, to superstar athletes in several fields, to Cirque du Soleil acrobats and others with rare & amazing talents, I have witnessed--live and in person--virtuosity in myriad forms.

Yet while I reserve the right to be contradictorily hyperbolic as the inspiration arises, there has been no one as jaw-dropping, mind-blowingly impressive at his or her craft than tap dancer Savion Glover. At least from a visceral standpoint.

Within the first two minutes he was on stage at the Harris Theater on Friday night, Glover displayed "hoofing" abilities that I don't think anyone else in the world can match.

This includes Marshall Davis, Jr., himself a phenomenal award-winning tap dancer who often shares the stage with the titular star of Savion Glover's STePz.

Davis is extraordinary, as are the "3 Controversial Women"--Robyn Watson, Ayodele Casel, Sara Savelli--who fill out the cast of this touring tap extravaganza set to recorded music by Prince, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Shostakovich, Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder and others.

I mean, imagine how good a tap dancer must you be to be hand-picked by Savion Glover to dance alongside him in a show he directs and choreographs.

But with all due respect, Glover's abilities--even to a dilettante like me--are a clear step beyond even his esteemed colleagues.

Words won't do him justice--I'll try to find a video to post below--but after his castmates opened the show together, Savion came on to do a rapid-fire solo piece that went for at least 5 minutes straight.

It was "Holy shit!" good. Over and over again.

But perhaps just as good, and even more demonstrative of the depth of his talent, was when Glover shared the stage in group numbers.

On the second piece, titled "When the Lights Go Down," all five dancers maintained a slow, cool rhythm that was sublimely showcased the beauty of syncopation.

Also stupendous was when Glover and Davis twice shared the stage on numbers that had them hoofing up and down two small, double-sided stair cases (see the video below). At times both men would go flying off the top stair, seemingly out-of-control, but never missing a beat.

After intermission, a blond woman who was not listed in the program--I think she's danced with Glover before; this was my fifth time seeing him--joined Savion and two others, and was also dazzling.

Excepting a brief wave at the end, Savion Glover never openly acknowledged the seemingly full house--it was nice to see several kids--and never spoke.

But even with pre-recorded music, and at times no musical accompaniment, I was riveted for the show's full 90 minutes, during which Glover hardly left the stage. If nothing else, just his stamina is awe-inspiring.

Believe me, I am far from a tap dancing aficionado, and certainly no expert. But what Glover can do goes beyond astonishing (or whatever adjective I've yet to use).

And it's not just his blinding speed.

One of the coolest parts of the show was when all 5 cast dancers were in a line at the front of their tap floor, seemingly still and silent. Except for what sounded like a woodpecker.

Only through my binoculars--and I was sitting rather up close--could I see that Glover was doing the tap dancer's version of ventriloquism. Though his leg was not apparently moving, his right foot was tapping with phenomenal rapidity. And he only got faster.

Also astonishing was the penultimate piece, with Savion dancing a beautiful solo to Nina Simone's Mr. Bojangles.

And the final number, an ebullient group dance to Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke," was pure joy.

While Savion Glover was openly paying tribute to some of his dance and music heroes--including his early mentor, the late great Gregory Hines--at the age of 40, he clearly belongs among the all-time greats.

Of anything.

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This clip, from Savion Glover's STePz website, should give you an idea what the show and its phenomenal star is all about: