Sole Invention

There won’t be any classical musicians joining Savion Glover onstage—as there were for his thrilling “Classical Savion” program—when he returns to the Joyce Theater next week. Nor are there any of his stalwart jazz players along for the ride. As brilliantly as Glover jams with and riffs off music of many kinds, he has lately been focusing once again on the sounds made by the tappers’ feet.

One show he has been touring with in recent years, BARE SOUNDZ, features himself and two fellow premiere tap dancers focusing on “tap as percussion—and percussion as sound.” In his upcoming Joyce program, SoLE PoWER, which features a cast of 10, he gets down to essentials. “The dancers are the musicians,” he said recently, speaking at The HooFeRz CLuB School for Tap, the Newark building that serves as his creative headquarters. Not that he has banished music entirely: some of the numbers are set to tracks by Prince and Radiohead.

But Glover has developed the show with his usual seriousness of purpose; it combines his ongoing interests—honoring the legacy that shaped him, as well as keeping tap dance contemporary. Acclaimed far and wide as the greatest tap dancer of today, he has led the way and cultivated a younger, hipper audience for tap dance. At only 36, he’s been on our stages since he was 10, and is already devoting his energies to passing his vast knowledge and insight on to a new generation. As he gave a tour of the Newark building—which features exposed brick walls and was once a neighborhood arts center where he took his first drumming lessons at age 6—and described how its additional spaces will be developed, a vibrant group of men and women rang the buzzer and assembled in the main studio, putting on their tap shoes and warming up in preparation for rehearsal.

“These are basically new bodies that I’m working with now, whom I found through the school,” Glover said. “Some of them are dancers that I’ve known in the past but just never had the opportunity to work with.” He’s interested in “allowing people a better understanding of dance now, in 2010—where I see it going… For a long time, this style of dance has not been performed or presented properly. I think that there’s another level now of presentation that can happen through this style of dance—without taking anything away from the dance, but just blending/melding a tribute to all of the art forms through tap dance.”

He’s often on the road, but has made time for several of these extended Joyce Theater engagements in recent years. “I just enjoy the New York vibe: being there, giving the audience a chance to see where I’ve been, see what I’ve been doing,” he explained. His intricate, inventive approach to tap is an ongoing, evolving process. “I’m more of an improvisationalist than a ‘routine’ guy,” he noted with a laugh. “So it doesn’t matter the environment. I’m always going to continue to explore nightly, see what I can do to make sure I have options.”

[The HooFeRz CLuB School for Tap] opened a year ago, and its program of study, running from September through May, is serious and focused. Glover also sees it as a place for the local community to feel welcome and at home. “This is our church! This is our center. We have all ages coming here—from beginners to young adults to older,” he said.

Fortunately for us, after a quarter-century on stage, Glover finds the challenge and excitement of performing undiminished. “It’s even better now—my approach to the dance. You mature, and continue to grow.” With the obligations of an interview over, it was time for rehearsal to begin. He greeted the assembled dancers, with a casual “what’s happening,” and as soon as he said, “OK, let’s go,” they launched into action. Immediately, the exposed brick walls resonated with explosive, intricate rhythms.

SoLE PoWER

June 21-July 10, [Joyce Theater,] 175 Eighth Ave (at 19 St.), 212-242-0800; times vary, $10 & up.