Jason Samuels Smith Taps His to Way the Pillow
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BECKET, Mass. – Tap superstar Jason Samuels Smith and his company A.C.G.I. (Anybody Can Get It) bring a dynamic program to Jacob’s Pillow for a special two-week engagement, July 22–26 and July 29-August 2. Accompanied by live music, the company’s performances will showcase Samuels Smith’s intricate rhythms and original style, while also featuring a troupe of talented tap soloists in a frenzy of movement and sound. A tap prodigy, Samuels Smith danced in Broadway’s Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk at the age of fifteen as a principal dancer and Savion Glover’s understudy. He has since gone on to become an Emmy and American Choreography Award-winner, television and feature film performer, director, and choreographer, and is also widely known for appearing as a special guest artist on the popular television show So You Think You Can Dance. A featured performer at the Pillow’s Season Opening Gala in June, Samuels Smith stomps, glides, and shuffles with tremendous precision. As Victoria Looseleaf of Dance Magazine attests, “His feet have been described as atomic, executing percussive blows that resonate with jackhammer force.”
Ella Baff, Jacob’s Pillow Executive Director, comments, ”Jason is one of the most remarkable dancers performing today. His technique, original style, his generosity on stage all add up to a thrilling connection with the audience , an embrace of what tap, a profound American art form, is all about.”
At the Pillow, Samuels Smith and his company A.C.G.I. will perform an energy-filled program that pushes the boundaries of tap dance while paying tribute to classical styles of hoofing. Samuels Smith’s personal tap style has been most influenced by the late great Gregory Hines, and he has also been compared to Savion Glover, who performed at the Pillow in 2002 and 2005. But Samuels Smith’s style, rhythmic choices and charisma are truly his own brand, with an intense connection to his interest in jazz music. He is inspired by the rhythmic structure of jazz greats like bebop saxophonist Charlie Parker and stride pianist Art Tatum. Accordingly, the Pillow program includes live accompaniment by gifted musicians, including pianist Theo Hill and Smith’s father, percussionist JoJo Smith. In addition to his musicianship, JoJo Smith is a dancer and choreographer—consultant to the disco film Saturday Night Fever—most renowned as a teacher whose past students include Barbra Streisand, John Travolta, and Brooke Shields.
Jason Samuels Smith is a sensational performer, choreographer, and teacher. Claudia La Rocco of The New York Times says that “even when his shoes seem barely to be touching the stage, he exudes a powerful sense of weighty rootedness that makes his virtuosic explosions all the more dazzling.” An audience favorite, he has appeared in national festivals, television series, and feature films. He has been a guest performer on So You Think You Can Dance and was a featured dancer in Outkast's film Idlewild. In 2004, Smith won an Emmy and the American Choreography Award for "Outstanding Choreography" for the opening number of the 2003 Jerry Lewis/MDA Telethon, a work created in tribute to the late Gregory Hines, a beloved tap dancer and actor.
Dedicated to broadening public recognition of tap dancing, Samuels Smith founded the Los Angeles Tap Festival in 2003 and is currently developing his own specialty shoe for Bloch. In addition to working with A.C.G.I. (Anybody Can Get It), his company of experienced tap soloists, he performed with Kathak dancer Pandit Chitresh Das in India Jazz Suites. Das and Smith’s performance was named the #1 Dance Performance of 2005 by the San Francisco Chronicle and won the prestigious Isadora Duncan Dance Award for 2005’s Best Ensemble Performance. Smith also choreographed and performed the role of tap pioneer Fayard Nicholas in Debbie Allen's production of SAMMY, a musical about the life of Sammy Davis Jr.
For more information on Jacob’s Pillow and Jason Samuels Smith visit www.jacobspillow.org.
