Photo courtesy of the Ford Amphitheatre
After going through a 70 million dollar renovation, the Ford Amphitheater, which originally was built in 1920, reopened with an incredible show Saturday. The amazing Savion Glover tapped to the sounds of Dance Candy, a super tight jazz group, that included band leader, Mark Ingraham, Guitarist, Steven Boone, Keyboard player, Calvin Erasmus Brown, Bass player, Derrick Englert, Drummer, Josh McCormick and soulful singer Samantha Reed.
Savion is one of the most creative and talented dancers around. I’ve seen him before in the Broadway show “Bring in the Noise, Bring in the Funk,” and he never ceases to amaze me. Savion doesn’t just dance. He becomes an instrument, communicating and improvising with the other musicians sharing the stage with him. And that’s exactly what he did Saturday evening…and he was absolutely sensational.
But he wasn’t alone. Half way through, Savion brought on three other tappers, Marshall Davis, Jr., Robyn Watson and Karissa Royster who added their talent to the evening. At one point, he took a break from dancing to serenade the audience. But in the end, it was all about the dancing…His brilliant dancing. Once again he brought the funk and he brought his art. It was a show that I will remember for a long time.
The beautiful 1200 seat outdoor John Anson Ford Amphitheater has always been one of my favorite places to spend a summer evening I recommend getting their early so you can dine on the recently remodeled Terrace.
For their upcoming schedule of events and to purchase tickets go to fordtheatres.org.
