Savion Glover Quotes

Powerful Savion Glover for Daily Growth

About Savion Glover

Savion Glover, born on February 13, 1973, in Newark, New Jersey, is an American tap dancer, choreographer, and actor who has significantly impacted the world of dance. Known as 'The Innovator' and 'Tap Dance's Mozart', Glover rose to fame at a young age, performing on television shows like "Soul Train" and "Star Search." Inspired by his tap dancing predecessors such as Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis Jr., and his own father, Bishop Savion Glover, he honed his unique style, combining traditional tap dance with elements of contemporary movement. His breakthrough role came in 1984 when he was cast as the young Herbie in the Broadway musical "The Tap Dance Kid." This led to a successful career on Broadway, including starring roles in "Black and Blue" and "Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk," which earned him a Tony Award for Best Choreography. Glover's innovative approach to tap dance is characterized by his 'beat-boxing feet', where he creates complex rhythms with intricate footwork and percussive sounds. His major works include "Classical Savion Glover," a 1996 documentary that showcases his journey as an artist, and "Stomp," a rhythm-based dance and musical performance he co-created in 1994. In addition to his numerous awards and accolades, Glover has also made significant contributions to the world of dance through his education initiatives. He founded The Savion Glover Ballet Arts Foundation in 2013 to provide underprivileged children with access to dance education and opportunities. Today, he continues to push the boundaries of tap dance, inspiring a new generation of dancers and artists.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Dance is the language of the soul of Black America."

This quote by Savion Glover highlights the deep emotional and cultural significance that dance holds within African-American communities. It suggests that through movement, Black America expresses its spirit, history, struggles, joys, and identity in a way that words often cannot. Dance, in this context, serves as a powerful medium for storytelling, self-expression, and preserving the collective memory of Black America. This interpretation underscores the unique role dance plays in Black culture, allowing it to communicate complex narratives and emotions that resonate deeply within the community and beyond.


"Dancing is like dreaming with your feet."

This quote suggests that dancing is an expression of one's inner thoughts, emotions, or imagination, much like dreaming. However, instead of using our minds to create images, we use our bodies, specifically our feet, to manifest those dreams into physical movement. It implies a free-flowing, intuitive, and creative process where the dance floor becomes a canvas for one's soul to express itself.


"I try to make my dancing talk about something, you know? There's a story being told in every step."

Savion Glover's quote emphasizes that his dance is not just an abstract display of movements; rather, it tells a story or conveys a message. Each step he takes has significance and contributes to the narrative he wants to convey through his dance. This perspective highlights the artistic value in dance as a form of expression, where each movement carries meaning beyond mere aesthetics.


"I'm trying to find new ways to do the old things."

This quote by Savion Glover emphasizes a desire for innovation while respecting tradition. He is expressing that he aims to discover fresh, modern approaches to execute established or traditional dance moves. It implies a creative exploration of established techniques in an effort to expand the artistic boundaries within his craft.


"I believe that dance is not something you learn from others, but it's something that comes from within."

This quote by Savion Glover emphasizes the personal and innate nature of dancing. He suggests that one's unique dance style or ability isn't solely learned from external sources, such as teachers or other dancers, but rather it originates from within oneself. The idea is that each individual has an inherent rhythm, creativity, and self-expression waiting to be tapped into and brought forth through movement. Therefore, every dancer brings their own perspective and style to the art form, making it a unique and personal expression of one's identity.


Other dances are like languages, like French or Spanish, but my steps are slang, and slang is always changing.

- Savion Glover

Always, Other, Spanish, Slang

Tap dancing is like... it's equivalent to music, not only for the African American community, but also for the world. Tap dancing is like language; it's like air: it's like everything else that we need in order to survive. I'm blessed and honored to be knowledgeable of the art form and to be a part of the art form.

- Savion Glover

Dancing, Part, Equivalent, African American

It's as if my left heel is my bass drum and my right heel is the floor tom-tom. I can get snare out of my right toe by not putting it down on the floor hard, and, if I want cymbals, I land flat on both feet, full strength on the floor.

- Savion Glover

Strength, Feet, Putting, Flat

I was always looking at footage of dancers from Nicholas Brothers to Ralph Brown to Sand Man to Miller Brothers and Lois, and I grew up looking at old footage.

- Savion Glover

Always, Dancers, Ralph, Brown

Authenticity is the most important thing. You have to know where it all comes from, study who pioneered it.

- Savion Glover

Study, The Most Important, Authenticity

La Cave was a great platform for me to learn and be able to listen in on conversations and just get a lot of notes and teachings from those older guys.

- Savion Glover

Learn, Cave, Notes, Conversations

The sound of tap is not 'clickety clickety tap tap,' this monotone thing. The sound of tap has depth. We want you to hear the different highs and lows, the bass, the trebles and the melodies, if you can.

- Savion Glover

Sound, Melodies, Tap, Depth

I want tap to be something danced in arenas. Sort of like a rock group. Other art forms happen every night. Take theater, opera; there's always opera happening every night.

- Savion Glover

Opera, Other, Rock Group, Art Forms

I come from a long line of people who express themselves through the dance. I come from a long line of people who create music through their feet.

- Savion Glover

Feet, Through, Line, Long Line

I am realizing and accepting my role as a tap dancer in this world is not only to tap dance for the sake of performance, but through tap dance be able to share and spread a message and congregate with people I would not necessarily be with had it not been for dance.

- Savion Glover

Through, Role, Been, Realizing

My mom always had me and my brother watching old Fred Astaire movies.

- Savion Glover

Movies, Old, Always, Fred

When Puffy asked me to do the video, I said yes. Cuz it's all about the Benjamins!

- Savion Glover

Yes, About, Video, Cuz

They're taking away the arts programmes in the schools, and that's a terrible thing.

- Savion Glover

Away, Schools, Programmes, Terrible Thing

I used to think I had this responsibility to carry on this tradition. Now I just feel like I have to keep the dance out there, keep it in the public eye.

- Savion Glover

Think, Feel, Like, Public Eye

Frank Sinatra changed people's approach to singing. Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye, van Gogh, they were all part of movements that allowed people to think about their craft differently. They changed the game. These people changed the game.

- Savion Glover

Game, Frank, Van Gogh, None

I don't deal in terminology, I deal with expressions: colors, shapes, tones, characteristics.

- Savion Glover

Deal, Characteristics, Expressions

What does genius mean? God has put us here specifically... every person has a job or journey to do. It's just a matter of finding what we're here to fulfill or execute. That's genius to me.

- Savion Glover

Journey, Here, Fulfill, Specifically

I was first introduced to dancing through the TV: I remember watching ballet, jazz and ballroom dancing when I was very little. But I felt no connection with it whatsoever: it was just like watching a Tom and Jerry cartoon.

- Savion Glover

Dancing, Through, Whatsoever, No Connection

My show mode is that the dressing room is like going into the cockpit. Going down the stairs is like going on the runway, and once we begin performing, it's flight time. I'm just floatin' on that stage.

- Savion Glover

Flight, Like, Going, Dressing Room

The connection of what I do to flamenco lies in the whole lament, whole cry, whole pouring back into the earth and giving energy back to the earth. It's a cry and a celebration. That's what music, sound, vibration should do. It should spark energy in someone.

- Savion Glover

Sound, Back, Lament, Spark

There are many different styles of, and approaches to, tap. My own leans towards a more intellectual view: tap dancing not just for the sake of entertainment but to educate and spark emotion.

- Savion Glover

Dancing, Entertainment, Tap, Spark

I've changed my whole angle for dance. I'm moving towards moving back rather than hanging out with my peers. I'm reaching back to older dudes for a second.

- Savion Glover

Back, Rather, Peers, Changed

When you think about John Coltrane, in my opinion - and I think I share this opinion with a lot of people - his approach to music changed other people's approach to music.

- Savion Glover

Think, Other, John Coltrane, Changed

Every now and then, someone comes along - we used to call it 'New Jack' - tries to do something new, tries to take all the credit, without acknowledging the past.

- Savion Glover

Past, New, Tries, Jack

I grew up watching Gregory Hines banging out rhythms like drum beats, and Jimmy Slyde dancing these melodies, you know, bop-bah-be-do-bap, not just tap-tap-tap. Everyone else was dancing in monotone, but I could hear the hoofers in stereo, and they influenced me to have this musical approach towards tap.

- Savion Glover

Dancing, Melodies, Rhythms, Banging

My mom couldn't afford dance shoes, so she put me in these old cowboy boots with a hard bottom so I could get some sound out. I used them for seven months. When I finally got real tap shoes, I was nervous. I kept moving my feet, thinking, 'Oh, so this is how it's supposed to sound.'

- Savion Glover

Feet, Sound, Some, Boots

I feel it's my duty, my job, now to allow people to hear the dance to different genres of music, to ensure audiences have the chance to listen to tap dancing up against all these other styles.

- Savion Glover

Dancing, Other, Allow, Different Genres

A tapper sticks to existing routines. Whereas hoofing... a hoofer pushes the art form.

- Savion Glover

Art, Existing, Sticks, Whereas

I try new stuff every time I perform. I have steps I do that I know are definite, and stuff I can make up right then and there and then forget.

- Savion Glover

New, Perform, Definite, Every Time

We need these figures who don't exactly go against the grain but create a new grain.

- Savion Glover

New, Need, Figures, Grain

If you're searching for quotes on a different topic, feel free to browse our Topics page or explore a diverse collection of quotes from various Authors to find inspiration.