Got Rhythm 2? Xmas fusion - Jazz - Hip Hop and Tap!

Savion Glover - photo source Substance & Style

I watched a Christmas special way back in 1996 with Vanessa Williams and Friends, and then hurried out to buy her Cd, "Star Bright".  I think it was one of the 1st "celebrity" holiday Cds I ever purchased (this was before every popular musician had a holiday Cd). Every year since then I've played that Cd and I've had memories of watching one of the "friends" Savion Glover.

Back in 1996 you would never have found that show on line, but the other day I decided to do a search to see if I could find the segment with Vanessa and Savion. I searched everywhere but couldn't find an excerpt of just the one song they did together with him tap dancing, but I did find the entire show (which is well worth watching).

The Christmas special featured Shania Twain, Luther Vandross, Baby Face and the Harlem Boys Choir. The complete online video is about 35 minutes long. (I've also posted a shorter, one song version below)

In case you aren't familiar with Savion Glover, (now 39 years old)
and according to an article in the Washington Post - 

Tap dance artist young veteran in an old man’s game — he began his career at age 10, when he performed in Broadway’s “The Tap Dance Kid,” and has grown into a focused artist seen most notably on stage and in film. His list of accolades includes a Tony Award for his work in “Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk,” founding the HooFeRz CLuB School for Tap, and lending his footwork to productions such as “Bamboozled” and “Happy Feet.”

The 38-year-old discusses the new generation of dancers, the legacy of tap and what he remembers most about famed mentor Gregory Hines:

Tap dancing has — it was here way before you and I, and I think it’s something that will be continued as a form of entertainment. But hopefully when it comes to the style — you know, the Lon Chaney style, the Jimmy Slyde style — hopefully we can get more people to understand what their approach to the dance was versus the entertaining approach. 

To this day, you still have some who really don’t understand tap on an intellectual level — they only see it as a form of entertainment and it’s much more than that.

The rest of the story

Here's the excerpt I finally figured out how to edit down to just the 4 minutes with the song I love, "Angels we have heard on high"
Check out Savion (his dancing brings to mind the question of nature vs nurture that I wrote about the other day in my post "Got Rhythm?")

    Here's the link  If you have time, Check out the entire show. Memories!!