Post-Show Talk: Soles of Duende

This Post-Show Talk is moderated by Scholar-in-Residence Debra Cash in conversation with Ryan Stanbury, AJ Jagannath, Okai Musik, Arielle Rosales, Brinda Guha, and Amanda Castro of Soles of Duende. Recorded on April 25, 2026, following the company's performance in the Doris Duke Theatre. Formed in East Harlem in 2016, the multicultural trio Soles of Duende are bonded by a deep love of music and percussive dance. Following their Jacob’s Pillow debut on the outdoor stage in 2022 and their appearance in the 2024 Season Opening Gala, the group returned in Spring 2026 with "Can We Dance Here?," a New York Times Critic’s Pick that premiered in June 2022 at Gibney Center, NYC. Soles of Duende’s three members—a Brooklyn-born Puerto-Rican from New Haven, a Mexican Puerto-Rican Jew from the Lower East Side, and a Bengali Indian from Jersey—elevate the joy and music of collaboration across three dance disciplines: tap (Amanda Castro), flamenco (from Arielle Rosales), and kathak (Brinda Guha). The trio was featured in The Joyce Theater’s 2024 American Dance Platform and has received multiple Bessie Award nominations in recent years. In 2024, they were featured on the cover of Dance Magazine. With "Can We Dance Here?," these three storytellers celebrate and elevate their survival amidst the barriers that diminish collective liberation, in an enticing evening of synergy and rhythmic exchange. Rooted in the freedom their crafts provide them, and in dialogue with musicians playing live, Soles of Duende invites the audience to pause, witness, and receive three women of culture boldly taking the floor. Video by Nel Shelby Productions.