Blurring the line between concert, dance, and music performance, Music From The Sole is a tap dance and live music company that celebrates tap’s roots in the African diaspora. Co-founders composer and bassist Gregory Richardson and Brazilian tap dancer and choreographer Leonardo Sandoval, draw from Afro-Brazilian, jazz, soul, house, rock, and Afro-Cuban styles.
The performance marks the culmination of Music From the Sole’s multi-year Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artist-in-Residence and premiere of their new work, House Is Open, Going Dark.
Come early and join the on-stage house party with Music From The Sole and Our Fabulous Variety Show. Expect spontaneous dance, improvised riffs, and lots of popcorn!
Choreography: Leonardo Sandoval in collaboration with the company members
Original Music: Gregory Richardson, Leonardo Sandoval, Matt Parker, Dylan Bhulai Rowland, Michael Jellick, Jennifer Vincent, Orlando Hernandez, Magela Herrera
Dramaturgy: Orlando Hernández
Lighting Design: Kathy Kaufmann
Creative Consultant: Roberta Uno
Performers: Brittany DeStefano, Orlando Hernández, Matt Parker, Gregory Richardson, Dylan Rowland, Leonardo Sandoval, Lucas Santana, Gisele Silva, Ana Tomioshi, Jennifer Vincent
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MUSIC FROM THE SOLE
Music From The Sole is a tap dance and live music company that celebrates tap's Afro-diasporic roots, particularly its connections to Afro-Brazilian dance and music, and its lineage to forms like house dance and passinho (Brazilian funk). Led by Brazilian choreographer Leonardo Sandoval and by composer Gregory Richardson, their work embraces tap’s unique nature as a blend of sound and movement, incorporating wide-ranging influences like samba, passinho, Afro-Cuban, jazz, and house.
As part of its mission to bring tap dance, America's original vernacular dance form, to new audiences, the company appears at both music and dance venues. Recent credits include appearances at Lincoln Center, Kaatsbaan, Jacob’s Pillow, The Yard, Caramoor Jazz Festival, Battery Dance Festival, and Tap in Rio. They were recently commissioned new pieces by Works And Process at the Guggenheim, and have received support from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New England Foundation for the Arts, and the Jerome Foundation.
Driven by a firm belief in the transformational power of both dance and music, the company has also partnered with organizations like the National Dance Institute and Lincoln Center Education, highlighting a deep commitment to community engagement, inclusivity, and social impact. Beyond theatres and concert halls, they have brought performances, and discussions to schools, hospitals, prisons, parks, and community centers.
Photo: Jessica Dalene Photography
Sponsors
Promotional Partner: Hamptons Jazz Fest
Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artist-in-Residence
Principal Sponsor: Kathy Rayner in memory of her husband, Billy Rayner.
House Is Open, Going Dark is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Works & Process, the Joyce Theater Foundation, The Yard, Guild Hall, Dance Place, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and NPN.
Music From The Sole’s new work has been developed in a Works & Process LaunchPAD residency at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park (2024), Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artist-in-Residence Program (2023 and 2025), and a Pillow Lab residency at Jacob’s Pillow (2024), as well as additional residency support from The Yard, Chelsea Factory, and Dance Place. Additional support was provided by the Harkness Dance Foundation, a 2023 Alan M. Kriegsman Creative Residency at Dance Place.
Guild Hall’s Learning + New Works programs are made possible through Vital Projects Fund, the Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Endowment Fund, The Melville Straus Family Endowment, and additional support by Collegiate Gateway.
Additional support provided by Friends of Learning + New Works: Julie Raynor Gross, Stephanie Joyce and Jim Vos, S. Kutler Foundation, N. Glickberg, D. Glickberg, and J. Abrahams, Andrea and Jeffrey Lomasky, Peter Marino, Stephen Meringoff, and Eva Sandler.
All Musical Programming is supported in part by The Ellen and James S. Marcus Endowment for Musical Programming.
Music From The Sole is supported by Dance/NYC’s Dance Advancement Fund, made possible by the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Ford Foundation, by grants from New Music USA, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, The Harkness Dance Foundation, The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and by the New York State Council on the Arts.
More information: npnweb.org.
Performing Arts programming is supported in part by funding from Galia Meiri-Stawski and Axel Stawski, Henry and Peggy Schleiff, The Melville Straus Family Endowment, and Monica and Peter Tessler. Music Programming is supported in part by The Ellen and James S. Marcus Endowment for Musical Programming.
Additional support provided by Friends of the Theater: John and Joan D’Addario, Natascia Ayers and Jim Ciquera, Christine and Bill Campbell, Gabrielle and Gianpaolo de Felice, Lena Kaplan, Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan, Michèle and Steve Pesner, The Schaffner Family Foundation, Lisa Schultz and Ezriel Kornel, Jayne Baron Sherman and Deborah Zum, Stacey and Oliver Stanton, Leila Straus, Susi and Peter Wunsch, and Andrew Yuder and Kyle Glaeser.
