When someone asks me why I Tap, my answer is always “Because I love every part of it and want to share my passion and knowledge with others”. When they ask me if there is any money in it, I say “Not usually”.  Do I want fame and fortune, to be on TV? Nope.  So what makes me continue with something that seems to the outsider “a waste of time”?

I am much more interested in understanding the roots of the dance; where, when, and who it came from. There is a wealth of history that is lying dormant that is being forgotten with today’s generation of students. As I was listening to the soundtrack of Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk, there was one particular track that stood out to me called “Green, Chaney, Buster, Slyde”. It is nothing more than Savion Glover hitting behind a beautiful monologue about the greats that he studied with. It is raw, real, and gives insight to the life of Tap dance. He talks about how they were educators rather than entertainers, and were out there hitting rhythms that everyone could understand. It wasn’t about flashy smiles and costumes, it was about telling a story through your music.

Savion is one of those teachers/dancers who is in it for the pure love of the art. One of his goals is to keep Tap alive and follow the traditions that make Tap what it is, while also experimenting to keep his dance relevant to the times. These traditions of improvisation, hitting, understanding music, and studying the history are being slowly forgotten because no one is taking the time to learn them. Some of these concepts are so foreign to my students that sometimes I don’t know where to start. It pains me when my students don’t know who the founding fathers of Tap are or can’t name ONE Tap dancer of today’s generation.

I found this article from The Province about Savion’s take on Tap. I love that he’s focused on the tradition and education. He’s such a great role model for what Tap is and where it should go in the future. Granted he’s not the only one, as there are many more people out there who do it for love and truly want to keep Tap on the Map with its original traditions, though Savion is probably the most well known. He is very opinionated (as am I) which is why I agree so strongly with what he is doing and has done for Tap dance and its culture.

Click here to read the article

 

 

 

I just found another article from the Vancouver Sun where Savion gives more insight as to why he does what he does!

Click here to read the article

 

 

 

Here is an interview from Channel 4 News when Savion was in London a few years ago. He talks about being a Hoofer and why he loves what he does.

 

 

 

On a different note (no pun intended) last night on Dancing with the Stars, there was a Tap routine from the Broadway hit Mary Poppins! Tap in musicals is not seen as much as it has been in the past andI thought it was nice to give the audience a reminder that Tap dance is still alive and out there!