Music From The Sole at Dance Out East, Guild Hall, 1.10.25. Photo: Smiley Guirand
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.
After multiple residencies through Guild Hall’s William P. Rayner Artists-in-Residence program, the company will share a preview of their newest work, House Is Open, Going Dark culminating the company’s technical residency at Guild Hall.
This program is part of the inaugural DANCE OUT EAST festival, taking place January 9, 10, and 11. A collaboration between Guild Hall, The Church, The Watermill Center, and Works & Process, DANCE OUT EAST provides unique insight into the process and preparation of new choreographed works that will sequence into the Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival at the Guggenheim Museum.
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
Principal Sponsor: Kathy Rayner in memory of her husband, Billy Rayner
Learn more about the residency program HERE.
Co-Commissioned by Guild Hall and Works & Process, Music From The Sole’s new work has been developed in a Works & Process LaunchPAD residency at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park (2024) and Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artist-in-Residence (2023 and 2025). This new work 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.
More information: npnweb.org. Additional support was provided by the Harkness Dance Foundation, a 2023 Alan M. Kriegsman Creative Residency at Dance Place, and a 2024 Pillow Lab.
Guild Hall’s Learning + New Works programs are made possible through The Patti Kenner Arts Education Fellowship, Vital Projects Fund, the Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Endowment Fund, and The Melville Straus Family Endowment.
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.
