The Marie Rader Series at Rowan University Presents Music From The Sole’s “I Didn’t Come to Stay”
Tap, percussive dance, samba, house, and live music come together in Music from the Sole’s I Didn’t Come to Stay on November 4 at 7:30 pm. Brazilian tap dancer/choreographer Leonardo Sandoval and bassist/composer Gregory Richardson lead eight dancers and a five-piece band in a performance that explores tap’s lineage and connections to other Afrodiasporic forms, commissioned by Works & Process for premiere at Guggenheim. Together the pair embrace shared roots across the diaspora and reflect on racial and cultural identity, while also celebrating the joy, strength, depth, and virtuosity of Black dance and music. Performances will be at Pfleeger Concert Hall. For ticketing, visit go.rowan.edu/musicfromthesole.
Commissioned by Works & Process, I Didn’t Come to Stay was created with the support of a summer 2020 Works & Process bubble residency at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park. This culminated in preview performances that were among the first outdoor performances permitted by New York State. I Didn’t Come to Stay was featured in a Works & Process at Lincoln Center video performance (2020) and received a Works & Process LaunchPAD “Process as Destination” residency at Catskill Mountain Foundation (2022), with additional residency support by The Yard, Jacob’s Pillow, and Chelsea Factory. I Didn’t Come to Stay is a National Dance Project Production Grantee. Runtime is approximately 60 minutes with no intermission.
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 dancer/choreographer Leonardo Sandoval and by bassist/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, they appear as both a dance company and a band at dance and music venues. Recent credits include appearances at Lincoln Center, Jacob’s Pillow, the Guggenheim Museum, The Yard, Kaatsbaan, Portland Ovations, Caramoor Jazz Festival, Bryant Park, the 92NY, and Tap in Rio. They are 2022-23 resident artists at the 92NY, and partner frequently with organizations like the National Dance Institute, and Lincoln Center Education, engaging through dance and music with communities across NYC and beyond.
For a current list of company members and short bios, see: musicfromthesole.com/company-members