Savion Glover, Patricia Smith and Christian McBride Named NJPAC Artistic Advisers
By: BWW News Desk Jan. 14, 2016
"Newark has a long history as being a center for poetry, jazz and art," says John Schreiber, NJPAC's President and CEO. "In welcoming these three immensely talented artists as artistic advisers to the Arts Center, we absolutely strengthen our larger vision of comprehensively serving our audiences and the local community."
"Rather than rely on a singular programmer or artistic director, NJPAC has opted for the best of all worlds by engaging top talent in a variety of genres to act as Artistic Advisers," states David Rodriguez, NJPAC's Executive Vice President and Executive Producer. "We then have the benefit of these artists performing their best work on our stages as well as the opportunity to gain insight into the worlds of these visionary creators. It is this combination of iconic talent and our in-house staff that leads to the one-of-a-kind programming that has made NJPAC the state's premier venue for nearly twenty years."
Defining excellence in the fields of dance, music and poetry, the Artistic Advisers will also be active participants in NJPAC's vigorous community engagement and arts education programming, leading master classes and doing educational outreach.
Schreiber adds, "In order for to be a robust arts center, one renowned for its eclectic and diverse programming, it is necessary that we listen equally to professionals in the artistic field and within the communities we serve. Our Artistic Adviser program provides a high profile and tested pathway to mobilize NJPAC as a national leader in both world class performance and community-based programming."
Newark native Savion Glover is perhaps the world's best-known advocate of tap dance, an actor and choreographer who has made it his life's mission to promote tap education and its history as a distinctively American art form. Glover discovered tap when his mother signed him up for dance lessons at the age of seven. It was when he met the greats responsible for the art form, including Gregory Hines, Jimmy Slyde and Lon Chaney, that his relationship with dance flourished. As a teacher, Glover believes that "it's up to us to share knowledge about the people who have made great contributions, not only through dance but through music and art and all types of artistic expressions." For three decades, starting with his Broadway debut at the age of 10 in The Tap Dance Kid (1983) to his Tony Award choreography for Bring In 'Da Noise, Bring In 'Da Funk (1996) to his current work on the highly anticipated Broadway production Shuffle Along (2016), Glover has been a national treasure. As the spokesman for NJPAC's dance program, Glover will have the honor to introduce Dance Theatre of Harlem when the legendary dance company headlines the NJPAC's annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebrations on Friday, January 15. He will also be the special guest speaker at the opening night performance of Alvin Ailey American Dance, May 6 - 8.
Patricia Smith, named NJPAC's Poet-in-Residence, says her education and appreciation for language began with her father. In an interview with HEArt Online, Smith recalls, "At the end of every day, my father would hold court in the living room, spinning an addictive serial narrative in which everyone in the neighborhood, everyone he knew, was a character. It wasn't long before I learned to look at the world through the stories it could tell, instead of through whatever I was or wasn't learning in school."
As part of NJPAC's extension of the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, Patricia Smith will introduce a variety of Newark's most dynamic voices, including some very young and talented poets from Newark's schools, on March 18. Ms. Smith will also curate NJPAC's participation in National Poem in Your Pocket Day, which will be held on April 21.
Ms. Smith adds, "Poetry appeals to me because you can take unwieldy stories and put them in tight controlled spaces and I really appreciate that. I love language and everything language can do is evident in poetry."
NJPAC is pleased to announce the formal renewal of our ongoing collaboration with jazz great Christian McBride. McBride has served as the Arts Center's Jazz Adviser and Artistic Director of the James Moody Jazz Festival since 2013. The roots of Mr. McBride's relationship with NJPAC run especially deep: McBride first met John Schreiber, NJPAC's President and CEO, when the bassist was a promising 14-year-old musician.
ABOUT THE ADVISERS:
Savion Glover is the choreographer of Shuffle Along, one of the most highly anticipated Broadway productions of spring 2016. Glover won the 1996 Tony Award for his choreography in the Broadway smash hit Bring In 'Da Noise, Bring In 'Da Funk. He made his Broadway debut at age 12, starring in The Tap Dance Kid. Additional Broadway credits include Black and Blue and Jelly's Last Jam co-starring Gregory Hines. Glover made his film debut at age 13 in Tap with Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis Jr. On television, he was a series regular on Sesame Street for five seasons. In 2000, he toured with Footnotes: the Concert featuring tap legends Jimmy Slyde, Buster Brown, and Diane Walker. Savion Glover was the star of Spike Lee's feature film, Bamboozled and he was the motion-capture dancer for the penguin Mumble in the animated film Happy Feet. Glover resides in his hometown of Newark, NJ.
Patricia Smith is the author of six books of poetry, including Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah (2012), which won the Lenore Marshall Prize from the Academy of American Poets; Blood Dazzler (2008), a chronicle of the human and environmental cost of Hurricane Katrina which was nominated for a National Book Award; and Teahouse of the Almighty, a 2005 National Poetry Series selection published by Coffee House Press. Her work has appeared in Poetry, the Paris Review, the New York Times, TriQuarterly, Tin House, The Washington Post, and in both Best American Poetry and Best American Essays. She is a 2014 Guggenheim fellow, a 2012 fellow at both MacDowell and Yaddo, a two-time Pushcart Prize winner, recipient of a Lannan fellowship and a four-time individual champion of the National Poetry Slam, the most successful poet in the competition's history. She lives in Howell, NJ.
Bassist extraordinaire, composer, arranger, educator, curator and administrator, Christian McBride, has been one of the most important and most omnipresent figures in the jazz world for 20 years. Sometimes hard to believe considering this man is barely in his 40's. For over 20 years, McBride has appeared in numerous musical settings with just about any musician imaginable in the jazz as well as R&B and pop worlds. From playing with the likes of Milt Jackson, Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny; to playing with and/or arranging for the likes of Isaac Hayes, Chaka Khan, Lalah Hathaway, Sting and the legendary James Brown -- what has always been unique about McBride is his versatility. McBride is a resident of Montclair, NJ.
New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in downtown Newark, New Jersey, is among the largest performing arts centers in the United States and is the artistic, cultural, educational and civic center of New Jersey - where great performances and events enhance and transform lives every day. NJPAC brings diverse communities together, providing access to all and showcasing the state's and the world's best artists while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city. Through its extensive Arts Education programs, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts. NJPAC has attracted more than 9 million visitors (including over 1.5 million children) since opening its doors in 1997, and nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its constituents.
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