Savion Glover

Savion Glover, born November 19, 1973, in Newark, New Jersey, is an American tap dancer, actor, and choreographer whose Broadway career spans from 1983 to 1996. He is the youngest of three sons and was raised by his mother after his father left the family before his birth. His family background was steeped in music and performance: his great-grandfather Dick Lundy was a shortstop in the Negro leagues who managed eleven Negro League baseball teams, including the Newark Eagles; his grandfather Bill Lewis worked as a big band pianist and vocalist; and his grandmother, Anna Lundy Lewis, served as minister of music at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. Lewis, who also played for Whitney Houston during her time singing in the gospel choir, was the first to recognize Glover's musical aptitude. Glover graduated from Newark Arts High School in 1991.

His introduction to performance came early. At age seven, Glover played drums in a group called Three Plus One, insisting on dancing while he played. He began teaching tap at age fourteen and went on to found both Real Tap Skills and HooFeRz Club School for Tap in Newark. His training drew from an extensive roster of tap legends, including Gregory Hines, Henry LeTang, Jimmy Slyde, Dianne Walker, Chuck Green, Honi Coles, Sammy Davis Jr., Buster Brown, Howard Sims, Arthur Duncan, Lon Chaney, and Leonard Reed. LeTang, who had also taught the Hines brothers in the 1950s, nicknamed Glover "the Sponge" for the speed with which he absorbed instruction, and directed him toward Black and Blue, a tap revue in Paris, before the show moved to Broadway. Hines, who became one of Glover's primary teachers, described him as possibly the best tap dancer who ever lived. Glover's own description of his style centers on funk, which he defines as the bass line and the pulse that keeps one moving with the rhythm.

Glover made his Broadway debut at age eleven as a replacement cast member in The Tap Dance Kid, which ran in 1985. The musical, based on Louise Fitzhugh's 1974 novel Nobody's Family is Going to Change, featured choreography by Danny Daniels, direction by Vivian Matalon, music by Henry Krieger, and lyrics by Robert Lorick. Despite receiving mixed critical notices, the production earned seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical. Glover next appeared on Broadway in Black and Blue in 1989, performing at age fifteen and earning a Tony Award nomination that made him one of the youngest performers ever nominated in that category. In 1992, he appeared in Jelly's Last Jam, in which Gregory Hines starred as Jelly Roll Morton and the tap choreography was handled by Ted Levy and Hines. Glover played the role of Young Jelly and received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.

His most celebrated Broadway work came with Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk in 1996, for which he served as both performer and choreographer. He played the roles of Lil' Dahlin' and 'da Beat and received Tony Award nominations in both the acting and choreography categories, winning the Tony Award for Best Choreography. He also received a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography that same year. Two decades later, Glover choreographed Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, which opened at the Music Box Theatre in 2016. That work earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Choreography and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography.

Beyond Broadway, Glover contributed choreography and motion capture for the character Mumble in the 2006 film Happy Feet and its 2011 sequel. His film appearances include Tap in 1989, in which he played Louis, and Bamboozled in 2000, in which he played Manray/Mantan. He performed a timestep in Barbra Streisand's Timeless that has since been informally named the Savion Glover Timestep by members of the tap community. He also choreographed for television, including an ABC special called Savion Glover's Nu York, the ABC opening to Monday Night Football, and the HBO film The Rat Pack. Glover founded a dance company called NYOTs, standing for Not Your Ordinary Tappers. When choreographing, he works through improvisation, listening for distinct sounds at different points on the stage floor to find rhythms that shape each piece.