Thanks, first, for your Oct. 23 article about and interview with Savion Glover before his performance last Sunday of "Bare Soundz." The Chronicle's support of Duke Performances programming is, as always, deeply appreciated.
Because our programming is often intentionally provocative, we run the risk of communicating the wrong message. I'm afraid this may be the case in regard to Mr. Glover's feelings about his inclusion in the series.
"Shuffle & Pick" is a four-part series which, as described in the article, intends "to explore the African origins of banjo and tap, digging for roots that reach beyond minstrelsy and cakewalks into the very core of what makes art American and black." The focus of the series is to celebrate artists who have reclaimed and made something new of these two traditionally black American art forms, tap-dancing and banjo playing. Both tap and banjo thrived in and provided sustenance for the black community prior to minstrelsy. "Shuffle & Pick" is not, in fact, intended to focus on minstrelsy, "a dark area," as Glover points out, in American history. The minstrel tradition, clearly, relied on the denigration of both the arts forms and the black community, the community who created these forms. The "Shuffle & Pick" series takes its cue, instead, from groundbreaking artists like Glover, Corey Harris, and Tamango who are casting off the ugly ghosts of the past to create something innovative, immediate and powerful.
Finall, we believe that as a Southern institution, it is important for us to thoroughly explore a cultural history of the region without glossing over painful moments in our history-a provocative, challenging and, we believe, necessary mission.
Aaron Greenwald
Director, Duke Performances
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