Inside the Pillow Lab: Music From The Sole

During their Pillow Lab residency, Music From The Sole expanded and deepened their exploration of tap’s fluid identity as both dance and music, focusing particularly on the development of a new, currently untitled evening-length work. This work was co-commissioned by the Joyce Theater, Jacob’s Pillow, Works & Process at the Guggenheim, Guild Hall, The Yard, and Dance Place. 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 tap dancer/choreographer Leonardo Sandoval and by bassist/composer Gregory Richardson, Music from the Sole embraces tap’s unique nature as a blend of sound and movement, incorporating wide-ranging influences like samba, passinho, Afro-Cuban, jazz, and house. The company performed as part of the 2022 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Residency Dates: Oct 30 - Nov 10, 2024. Directed and produced by Nel Shelby Productions. The 2024-2025 Pillow Labs received lead support from: The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation © 2024 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Inc. Music from the Sole’s new work is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by The Yard, Joyce Theater Foundation Inc, Works and Process, Inc., Guild Hall of East Hampton, Jacob’s Pillow, Dance Place, and NPN. The Creation & Development Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information: www.npnweb.org