Glover dances his way to North Central
When tap dance master Savion Glover brings his show "Bare Soundz" to North Central College tonight, it won't be with glitzy costumes, Broadway flourishes or animated penguins.
The man who was co-choreographer and motion-capture dancer for the penguin Mumbles in the 2006 Academy Award-winning film "Happy Feet" is directing a show in his own highly rhythmic style.
Glover and fellow dancers Marshall Davis Jr. and Maurice Chestnut use their feet as musical instruments to tap out sounds that explore jazz, Caribbean beats and other contemporary musical genres.
"This show is very different than a tap dance show," said Ashley DeForest, a Lombard native who joined the show a month ago as production manager.
"This show is more percussionistic, more musical, more rhythmic, than visual," she said. "You don't have to be a dancer to appreciate the show."
DeForest said that although her role in the show is primarily behind-the-scenes, she occasionally performs in it.
"I hope to perform a little bit in the North Central show," she said, adding that many of her friends and family will be there.
DeForest, who opened DeForest Dance Academy in Elmhurst last year, has traveled with Glover in past shows and appeared with him in TV's popular "Dancing with the Stars" in 2007.
A hoofer for 27 years, Glover made his Broadway debut at age 10 in "The Tap Dance Kid." Three years later, he made his film debut in "Tap," starring Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis Jr.
Among his other credits, Glover is a 1996 Tony Award winner for the Broadway production "Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk," and starred in Spike Lee's feature film "Bamboozled."
Glover's newest show already has traveled the East and West coasts and is now reaching the Midwest, DeForest said.
After the performance at North Central, she'll travel with "Bare Soundz" to London the next week.
"We've been to a lot of colleges, which has been fun," she said.
If you go
What: "Bare Soundz," directed by tap dance master Savion Glover
When: 8 p.m. today
Where: North Central College's Pfeiffer Hall, 310 E. Benton Ave., Naperville
Tickets: $50
Info: (630) 637-7469