Popular Tap Dancer

Savion Glover | Biography 2021

Founder of tap dance school The HoOfErZClub, Owner of Savion Glover Productions

• By Reena Chikanbanjar
• Update : July 13, 2021

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Savion Glover is a tap dancer and ‘Tony Award’ winner.

Who is Savion Glover?

 Savion Glover is an acclaimed tap dancer, tap dancing teacher, choreographer, and actor. He started learning tap dance at the age of seven and began teaching the dance in his adolescence age. He popularized his pounding style of tap dancing called “hitting,” and established a tap dance school named The HoOFErZCLub in the year 2009.

He also has a promising career on Broadway. In 1984, he performed a lead role in the Broadway musical The Tap Dance Kid. Then, at age 15, he became one of the youngest performers nominated for the ‘Tony Award’ for his performance in the musical Black and Blue. In 1996, Glover won the ‘Tony Award’ for ‘Best Choreography’ for the musical Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk. Then, he garnered a ‘Tony Award’ nomination for his choreography in the musical Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed in 2016. 

In addition, Glover had appeared in films such as Tap (1989), Bamboozled (2000), and Bojangles (2001). He also made frequent appearances on the PBS educational children’s show, Sesame Street, from 1989 to 1998. 

Early Life

Savion Glover was born in Newark, New Jersey, United States, on 19 November 1973. He began taking drumming classes when he was four years old. Glover soon progressed to an advanced level and became the youngest person to receive a full scholarship in the Newark Community School of the Arts. Glover’s mother enrolled him in the tap-dancing class when he was seven years old. Soon, he developed a passion for the rhythmic style of the dance after meeting one of the celebrated tap dancers of Gregory Hines.

Broadway Career

Glover made his Broadway debut when he was 10 years old. His tap dancing skills soon landed him a lead role of Willie in the musical The Tap Dance Kid in 1984. The musical was based on Louise Fitzhugh’s 1974 novel titled ‘Nobody’s Family is Going to Change,’ and it unfolds the story of Willie, who dreams of becoming a tap dancer but undergoes obstacles from his father, who regards dance as a frivolous pursuit.

In 1989, at age 15, Glover performed in Black and Blue, a musical revue of blues and jazz music and dance popularized by black performers in the 1920s and 1930s. For his role in the musical, he was nominated for the ‘Tony Award,’ becoming one of the youngest performers to receive that nomination. In 1992, he performed in the role of young Jelly in the musical Jelly’s Last Jam and became the youngest recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant. Four years later, Glover choreographed and starred in the role of Lil Dahlin in the musical Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk, which he co-created with George C. Wolfe. The musical earned him the ‘Tony Award’ for ‘Best Choreography’ in 1996. After a long gap, Glover returned to Broadway in 2016. The same year, he was nominated for a ‘Tony Award’ in choreography for the musical Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. On 3 April 2021, he appeared on the Broadway stage with his thrilling performance for 36 minutes. The show was one of the high-profile NY PopsUp events launched by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to aid the arts industry.

Dancing Career

A tap dancer since childhood, Glover started teaching tap classes in the late 1980s. He also developed his own tap style called “free-form hard core.” In 1990, at age 17, he made his first choreography for Apollo Theater’s Rat-A-Tat-Tap Festival in New York City. Later, he opened a tap school named The HoOFErZCLub in Newark in 2009 to transfer the traditions and history of tap dancing. 

Films and Television Shows

In 1989, Glover made his film debut in the musical comedy-drama film Tap, alongside Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis Jr. From 1989 to 1998, he appeared in 32 episodes of Sesame Street, an educational television series made for preschool-age children which featured cartoons, games, music, and live actors. For his role in the series, Glover was nominated for the ‘Young Artist Award’ for ‘Outstanding Youth Host in a TV Magazine, News or Variety Show’ in 1994. In 1999, Glover appeared in an episode titled ‘Taps for Royal’ of comedy sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show. 

He returned to film in 2000, portraying the role of Manray/Mantan in Spike Lee’s satirical comedy-drama film Bamboozled. The following year, he appeared in the role of Newcomer in Bojangles, a biopic that chronicles the life of Black tap dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, played by Gregory Hines.

In addition, Glover choreographed the tap dance performed by the animated penguin Mumble in the hit computer-animated musical comedy films Happy Feet (2006) and Happy Feet Two (2011).

Glover had also established a production company named Savion Glover Productions.

Education

On 25 May 2017, Glover received an honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts from Montclair State University in Newark, New Jersey.