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.