Savion Glover to Perform at Jorgensen, 11/1

Savion Glover grew up dancing with the greats and now, as he closes in on 40, he handsomely fills their tap shoes. He will display his skills and reverence for the art of tap on Jorgensen's stage Friday, Nov. 1, 2013, at 8 p.m. in SoLe Sanctuary: A Hoofer's Meditation on the Art of Tap.

Glover is a Tony-winning hoofer, choreographer and producer with numerous stage and film credits. He's figured large and rhythmic on Broadway in The Tap Dance Kid, Black and Blue, Jelly's Last Jam, and Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk, for which he won a Tony for choreography. On film, he starred in Tap with Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis Jr., Bamboozled by Spike Lee, and Happy Feet, an Academy Award winner he choreographed and embodied for the animated Mumble the dancing penguin. Dancing With the Stars calls Glover "the greatest tap dancer in the world."

Glover will be joined on stage by Marshall Davis Jr., who also danced on Broadway in Bring in 'Da Noise... and is a recipient of the Isaac Hayes "Breaking the Barrier" Award for his achievements at a young age.

Dressed in white tap shoes, his long dreads not wholly confined, Glover puts his craft on the altar of those who have gone before him. It's pure grace in motion. Poster-size photos of dance legends decorate the set. "I recognized through the tap giants that I got to work with, like Dianne Walker, Jimmy Slyde, Gregory Hines and Buster Brown, that it was special for me to have been invited to participate in the art form," says Glover. "They had poured so much time and interest in me that I had no choice but to carry on the tradition for them."

Glover started dancing at age seven when his mother signed him up for lessons. His latest production, "Savion Glover's STePz," first ran last summer at The Joyce Theater in New York. Prominent as a teacher, Glover generously shares the stage with a mix of hoofers and founded HooFeRzCLuB School for Tap in his hometown of Newark, NJ.

SoLe Sanctuary showcases Glover's rangy body as an instrument. A depiction in The New York Times says, "While his upper body wilts, and his arms seem to be along for the ride - imagine a man on a unicycle - his long lower legs temper the forceful patter of his feet with rubber-band dexterity."

Glover pays dutiful homage to past influences, while making movement all his own. He credits the direction and choreography of SoLe Sanctuary to "Spirits Known."

Jorgensen was named Best College/University Performing Arts Center in the Hartford Advocate Best of Hartford Readers' Poll for 2012 and 2013.

Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2132 Hillside Road on the UConn campus in Storrs. Ticket prices are $37, $34 and $32, with some discounts, and $15 for youth 18 and under and non-UConn college students. For tickets and information, call the Box Office at 860.486.4226, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., or order online at jorgensen.uconn.edu. Convenient, free parking is available across the street in the North Garage.