A REVIEW: Savion Glover’s – Sole Sanctuary

The stage is set with two tap platforms.  A bare brick wall towards the rear of the stage.  Along the wall are rows of red votive candles as if in church.  On a platform sits an Asian man crossed legged seemingly engaged in prayer and meditation.

Our lead dancer, Savion Glover (also actor: Bamboozled) stands over the candles, finally he turns and faces the audience.  His hand scoops over his head as he reins in his dreadlocks and bundles them into a pontail.  He then steps onto the platform and begins a very slow dance rhythm. 

At first I made the mistake of watching his body when I should have soley (pun intended) been looking at his feet.  They were making music, just his feet, for the first 10 or 15 minutes.  He took great care in every step building a rapport with the audience and the audience with his feet.

As the music changed another dancer came on-stage (Marshall Davis, Jr.).  The two dancers then danced in synch.  After a while the music changed and then they danced as if in competition.

I’m merely scratching the surface here as the performance went on for 90 minutes without intermission.  Savion was soaked and his stamina was endless. 

I was mesmerized and thoroughly entertained.  I’ve wanted to see a live tap performance at its best and now I can say I truly have.