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Paul Mellon Arts Center (October 8); National Dance Institute (October 14-15); 92NY Harkness Mainstage Series (December 22)
Paul Mellon Arts Center (October 8); National Dance Institute (October 14-15); 92NY Harkness Mainstage Series (December 22)
An unforced crowd-pleaser, original and true to itself... Fall for Dance at its finest.
Sandoval, who is from Brazil and works in New York City, describes Music from the Sole as exploring “tap dance’s Afro-diasporic roots and lineage to a wide range of Black dance and music,” citing jazz, samba, house and passinho (Brazilian funk). In “I Didn’t Come to Stay,” these influences seamlessly intertwine, showing the artists’ easy command of their wide palette.
This sense of togetherness and collective joy extended throughout the work.
Siobhan Burke, The New York Times
"A marvelous feast of rhythm, both visual and aural."
Susanna Sloat, Dance Tabs
In [...] Music from the Sole, the musical element [...] is just as important as the dancing. The group’s six dancers, whose bodies also provide percussion, are in a constant give-and-take with musicians on piano, sax, and bass. The feeling is that of being at a family reunion, in which every family member has something to say.
Marina Harss, The New Yorker
...rigorous and exciting...
Apollinaire Scherr, The Financial Times
I do remember the beauty of Leonardo Sandoval’s tap solo, accompanied by Gregory Richardson on double bass. The two entered a friendly conversation, their voices replaced by tapping feet, claps, snaps and pizzicato strings. It was bliss.
Marina Harss, Dance Tabs
Leonardo Sandoval, accompanied by the bassist Greg Richardson, used his body as an instrument, contrasting soft taps of his feet with gentle slaps on his thighs and chest as he made his way to a wooden platform on the stage. His footwork was hushed — an articulate, musical whisper — as he somehow managed to convey the idea that he was gliding just above his feet.
Gia Kourlas, The New York Times
Sandoval, who is from Brazil and works in New York City, describes Music from the Sole as exploring “tap dance’s Afro-diasporic roots and lineage to a wide range of Black dance and music,” citing jazz, samba, house and passinho (Brazilian funk). In “I Didn’t Come to Stay,” these influences seamlessly intertwine, showing the artists’ easy command of their wide palette.
This sense of togetherness and collective joy extended throughout the work.
Siobhan Burke, The New York Times
"A marvelous feast of rhythm, both visual and aural."
Susanna Sloat, Dance Tabs
In [...] Music from the Sole, the musical element [...] is just as important as the dancing. The group’s six dancers, whose bodies also provide percussion, are in a constant give-and-take with musicians on piano, sax, and bass. The feeling is that of being at a family reunion, in which every family member has something to say.
Marina Harss, The New Yorker
...rigorous and exciting...
Apollinaire Scherr, The Financial Times
I do remember the beauty of Leonardo Sandoval’s tap solo, accompanied by Gregory Richardson on double bass. The two entered a friendly conversation, their voices replaced by tapping feet, claps, snaps and pizzicato strings. It was bliss.
Marina Harss, Dance Tabs
Leonardo Sandoval, accompanied by the bassist Greg Richardson, used his body as an instrument, contrasting soft taps of his feet with gentle slaps on his thighs and chest as he made his way to a wooden platform on the stage. His footwork was hushed — an articulate, musical whisper — as he somehow managed to convey the idea that he was gliding just above his feet.
Gia Kourlas, The New York Times
Music From The Sole is a tap dance and live music company that blurs the line between concert dance and music performance, and celebrates tap's roots in the African diaspora. Led by Brazilian tap dancer and choreographer Leonardo Sandoval and composer and bassist Gregory Richardson, their work draws from Afro-Brazilian, jazz, soul, house, rock, and Afro-Cuban styles. The company has performed at venues including the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Lincoln Center, The Yard, Kaatsbaan, and the 92Y, and has received support from the New England Foundation for the Arts, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Dance/ NYC, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and the Jerome Foundation.
Community engagement is central to Music From The Sole's work, with workshops, classes, educational performances, and lecture-demonstrations focusing on body percussion, Brazilian rhythms, and tap dance and its history. These have been presented at venues including the National Dance Institute, schools across NYC and the East Coast, and recently, Lincoln Center, in partnership with Lincoln Center Education.
Community engagement is central to Music From The Sole's work, with workshops, classes, educational performances, and lecture-demonstrations focusing on body percussion, Brazilian rhythms, and tap dance and its history. These have been presented at venues including the National Dance Institute, schools across NYC and the East Coast, and recently, Lincoln Center, in partnership with Lincoln Center Education.