WORLD PREMIERE
MUSIC FROM THE SOLE
PARTIDO
Co-presented by Harlem Stage and City College Center for the Arts
Friday–Saturday, November 12–13 2021, 7:30PM Harlem Stage Gatehouse
Address: 150 Convent Avenue at West 135 Street, New York, NY 10031 Phone: 212.281.9240 ext. 19 | Website: www.harlemstage.org
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ABOUT THE EVENT This world premiere of Music From The Sole’s Partido is co-presented by Harlem Stage and City College Center for the Arts. The performance features a diverse group of tap dancers and celebrates tap’s roots in the African diaspora. The piece is inspired by lead choreographer Leonardo Sandoval’s experience as an Afro-Brazilian immigrant and artist in the U.S. It is especially significant to present this work at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse as Partido aims to convey tap’s essence as a crossing point for Black dance and music, especially in Harlem—a central place in tap history. Thank you for joining us. Choreographer
Leonardo Sandoval, with improvisation by the company
Music Director
Gregory Richardson
Music
Partido by Gregory Richardson, Leonardo Sandoval, José Cruzata, Noé Kains
Dancers Naomi Funaki Orlando Hernández Leonardo Sandoval Lucas Santana Gisele Silva Ana Tomioshi Band
José Cruzata (saxophone, flute) Josh Davis (drums) Noé Kains (piano, keyboard) Gregory Richardson (bass, guitar)
Lighting design Costume design Sound design
Kathy Kaufmann Leonardo Sandoval & Noé Kains Christopher Marc
Music From The Sole gratefully acknowledges support for the creation of Partido from The Yard, where it was presented as a work in progress in 2019, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, CUNY Dance Initiative, City College Center for the Arts, the artist-inresidence program at the American Tap Dance Foundation and the Artists in Residence Exchange (AiRE) program at the Center for Flamenco Arts. Music commissioned by the Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS ABOUT PARTIDO Partido explores the convergence of percussive dance with contemporary urban dance and music in the US and Brazil. Initially spurred by Leonardo Sandoval’s experience as an AfroBrazilian immigrant in the United States, the piece celebrates and highlights the deep connections betweenAfro-rooted culture in both countries, connecting tap with styles like samba and house dance through shared rhythms and footwork.
ABOUT MUSIC FROM THE SOLE 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 samba. Led by Brazilian choreographer Leonardo Sandoval and composer Gregory Richardson, their work embraces tap’s unique nature as a blend of sound and movement, incorporating wide-ranging influences like samba, passinho (Brazilian street funk), Afro-Cuban, jazz, and house. The company appears at both music and dance venues, bringing tap dance to new audiences, and engaging with communities across NYC and beyond through their inclusive and uplifting work.
ARTIST STATEMENT Partido is the synthesis of our artistic relationship: Leonardo lives and breathes Afro-Brazilian rhythm and music, which he has incorporated into his dancing and choreography to create such a distinctive voice, and Gregory is fluent in a wide range of musical styles, from funk, soul, and rock to house. Working together, and in collaboration with the dancers and musicians, we compose music-driven choreography and movement-driven music, incorporating the percussive dance music to the rest of the instrumentation from the start. The music and movement we
BIOGRAPHIES make digs into each of our backgrounds and trajectories, and especially into our understanding of tap’s essence as a crossing point for Black dance and music. Partido was our first full piece exploring these themes explicitly. It was first presented as a work in progress at The Yard in 2019, and tonight we are excited to share the new piece. We hope the work resonates with you the way it has for us as we have developed it!
LEONARDO SANDOVAL
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER, DANCER Brazilian tap dancer and choreographer Leonardo Sandoval is renowned for blending America’s great tap tradition with Brazil’s rich rhythmic and musical heritage. A true dancer-musician, he is one of Dance Magazine’s “25 To Watch” for 2021 and the recipient of a 2022 Vilcek Foundation Prize for Creative Promise in Dance. In 2015, with composer Gregory Richardson, he founded Music From The Sole, and their work has been Photo by Saul Z presented at venues like Jacob’s Pillow, Lincoln Center, and The Yard, Kaatsbaan, the 92Y, and Works & Process at the Guggenheim. In addition, he is a dancer with acclaimed tap company Dorrance Dance, touring across the US and abroad. Leonardo has also toured extensively as a solo artist, including at the National Folk Festival and Jazz at Lincoln Center. He is deeply committed to community engagement and education, and has brought performances and workshops to schools, prisons, hospitals, and parks, including through partnerships with Lincoln Center Education and the National Dance Institute.
BIOGRAPHIES GREGORY RICHARDSON
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, MUSICIAN
Gregory Richardson is a composer, performer, and multi-instrumentalist focusing on upright, electric bass, and guitar. Along with Leonardo Sandoval, he’s the co-creator and artistic director of Music from the Sole, as well as the musical director of the award winning tap dance company, Dorrance Dance. As a composer for dance, he’s participated in creative residencies at Lincoln Center Education, Jacob’s Pillow, The Yard, National Dance Photo by Leonardo Sandoval Institute, Guggenheim’s Works and Process, and Kaatsbaan Cultural Park. He’s received grants from New Music USA and premiered original compositions at The Guggenheim, BAM, The Joyce, and several times at The City Center of New York, most recently in collaboration with actor Bill Irwin. Other credits include performing with Toshi Reagon in her opera of Octavia Butler’s “Parable of the Sower,” touring with the indie band Darwin Deez, and playing with Grammy Award winning artists, Keyon Harrold and Marcus Gilmore.
JOSÉ CARLOS CRUZATA REVÉ MUSICIAN
José Carlos Cruzata Revé is a Cuban saxophonist from the city of Holguín, and studied at the National School of Art in Havana. He began his career as a member of several prominent Cuban Photo by Saul Z jazz and salsa bands that played around the world, including with members of the famous orchestra of Juan Formel y Los Van Van, and with flamenco dancer Joaquin Cortez. José had been teaching for the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance in New York City, where he is also working on his upcoming album, and collaborates frequently with Leonardo Sandoval and Gregory Richardson, including for their shows Music from the Sole and Partido, for which he also composed music, recently performing at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and Lincoln Center.
JOSH DAVIS MUSICIAN
Josh Davis is a multifaceted drummer, arranger and composer. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Josh is based out of NYC where he performs, records, teaches across many genres. He has toured throughout the U.S., Japan and Europe, playing venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Blue Note, Smalls Jazz Club, Symphony Space, Sziget Music Festival, and Detroit Orchestra Hall. He currently leads his own NYC-based jazz trio, mixing original compositions with arrangements of jazz standards and classic Brazilian choros and sambas. It is his belief that economic and educational disparity between peoples and communities must come to an end; especially in the case of children’s access to fair education and technology.
BIOGRAPHIES NAOMI FUNAKI DANCER
Naomi Funaki is a tap dancer from Tokyo, Japan, currently living in New York as an IISP student of Steps on Broadway. She has performed with Caleb Teicher & Company and Dorrance Dance’s second company. Photo by Nechama Photography She has danced at the first “Tap Family Reunion,” Vail Dance Festival, Fall For Dance (New York City Center), Works & Process (Guggenheim), Tokyo International Tap Dance Festival, and is an alumna of The School at Jacob’s Pillow tap dance program.
ORLANDO HERNÁNDEZ DANCER
Orlando Hernández is a tap dancer from Hoboken, New Jersey. He has presented his work at venues including On the Boards, La Casa Ruth, SPACE Gallery, the Provincetown Dance Festival, Brown University, Movement Photo by Michael Rosas Research at the Judson Church, and Dance Now at Joe’s Pub. He has performed with Subject: Matter, Cats Paying Dues, Michela Marino Lerman’s Love Movement, and the 2021 Tap Family Reunion, created by Dormeshia, Derick K. Grant, and Jason Samuels Smith. Orlando is the recipient of a Fellowship in Choreography from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and the Rebecca Blunk Fund Award from the New England Foundation for the Arts.
NOÉ KAINS
MUSICIAN/ COMPANY MANAGER
Noé Kains is a pianist and singer currently based in NYC. He is classically trained and studied at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, the UK, and Israel, and has appeared in solo recitals, chamber music, and concertos. Photo by Leonardo Sandoval Currently he is especially interested in Brazilian music, especially choro and maxixe, and these forms’ deep connections to dance, interests that he continues to explore with Music From The Sole.
KATHY KAUFMANN LIGHTING DESIGNER
Kathy Kaufmann is a New York City native, resident designer at Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church and a two-time Bessie recipient. She designs regularly for Dorrance Dance, Joanna Kotze, The Bang Group, Mariana Valencia, Music from the Sole, Rebecca Stenn, Ephrat Asherie Dance, Mina Nishamura, Jonathan Kinzel and Vicky Shick.
BIOGRAPHIES GISELE SILVA DANCER
Gisele Silva is a multi-form dancer dancer, instructor and choreographer from Brazil. Based in Los Angeles, Gisele is a member of the Syncopated Ladies, led by Emmy-nominated Chloe Arnold, and has danced with Music Photo by Rony Leão From The Sole since 2017. In addition, she is on faculty at Debbie Allen Dance Academy and performing in a variety of TV shows and festivals. A few of her recent credits include Essence Fest in New Orleans, BET Experience in Los Angeles, NBA Halftime Shows, Lincoln Center, Apollo Theatre, Teatro Ipanema, and Kaatsbaan Summer Festival. From performing in Disney’s Viva Navidad parade to integrating ballet into music videos for Travis Scott, Gisele continues to diversify her solo career.
LUCAS SANTANA DANCER
Originally from Pernambuco in Northeast Brazil, Lucas Santana started studying tap at 8 and has since performed on some of the biggest stages and TV shows in Brazil, including as part of the 2014 Photo by Renato Mangolin World Cup and 2016 Olympics celebrations. He first collaborated with Music From The Sole in 2017, most recently appearing at The Yard, Teatro Ipanema, in residency at Jacob’s Pillow, and in All You Gotta Do Is Ask (Works & Process at the Guggenheim Virtual Commission). In addition, he directs the group Afetos Sonoros in Rio. Lucas holds a degree in philosophy from the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Theatre at UdeSC in Florianópolis.
ANA TOMIOSHI DANCER
Ana Tomioshi is a Brazilian multi-style performing artist, choreographer and instructor, currently based in Washington DC. She is an alumna of The School at Jacob’s Pillow’s tap program and has performed at The Photo by Amanda Archibald Kennedy Center, São Paulo Municipal Theater, Battery Dance Festival, The Yard and Rock in Rio Music Festival. Ana also dances with Sole Defined Dance Company, directed by Quynn and Ryan Johnson, and is part of the Metropolitan School of the Arts faculty. Most recently, Ana was in the dance film “Rhythm Is Our Business”, a tap dance project commissioned by the Kennedy Center, which premiered on Sept 16th at the REACH film wall.
OUR SUPPORTERS
The Mertz-Gilmore Foundation supports Harlem Stage’s Dance programs, with additional support from the Harkness Foundation for Dance. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the City Council. Harlem Stage’s Programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
ABOUT HARLEM STAGE Harlem Stage is the performing arts center that bridges Harlem’s cultural legacy to contemporary artists of color and dares to provide the artistic freedom that gives birth to new ideas. For nearly 40 years our singular mission has been to perpetuate and celebrate the unique and diverse artistic legacy of Harlem and the indelible impression it has made on American culture. We provide opportunity, commissioning, and support for artists of color, make performances easily accessible to all audiences, and introduce children to the rich diversity, excitement, and inspiration of the performing arts. We fulfill our mission through commissioning, incubating, and presenting innovative and vital work that responds to the historical and contemporary conditions that shape our lives and the communities we serve.
Board of Directors Courtney F. Lee-Mitchell, President Jamie Cannon, Vice President Michael Young, Secretary Mark Thomas, Treasurer Neal Baer Stefany Bergson Angela Glover Blackwell
JoAnn K. Chase Patricia Cruz Hugh Dancy and Claire Danes Trevor Gale Jenette Kahn LaChanze Sapp-Gooding Tamara Tunie
Administration Staff Patricia Cruz, Artistic Director & CEO MANAGEMENT Eric Oberstein, Managing Director DEVELOPMENT Shamar Hill, Director of Development Shanté Skyers, Associate Director of Development Julia Marrero, Development Associate PROGRAMMING Yunie Mojica, Programming Manager MARKETING Deirdre May, Senior Director of Digital Content and Marketing Andre Padayhag, Marketing Manager and Graphic Designer BOX OFFICE Daniel Im, Box Office Manager PRODUCTION Amanda K. Ringger, Director of Production Kathy Kaufmann, Stage Manager Christopher Marc Hoffman, Audio Engineer, Sound Designer Orlando Alvarado, Audio Crew Clarence Taylor, Lighting Op David Barrett, Deck Crew Ameer Sharif, Deck Crew Julio Collado, Deck Crew
OPERATIONS Rodney Bissessar, Director of Operations Lamont Askins, Operations Assistant Acey Anderson Sr., Maintenance ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE Ncheng LLC, Accountants/Advisors Michelle Blankenship, Principal Aaron Lam, Supervising Senior Accountant CONSULTANTS Aon/Albert G. Ruben Company (NY) Claudia Kaufman, Insurance Digital Video Services—BriGuel Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, P.C. —Lisa Davis Itelagen, IT Consultant Lutz & Carr/Chris Bellando, Accountants Madison Consulting Group, —Matt Laurence Manchester Benefits—Greg Martin Marc Millman Photography Digital Video Services —Jess Medenbach PR Canvas Public Relations & Marketing RL Stein Group—Robyn L. Stein Development Consultant The Whelan Group Incorporated —Charles Whelan USHERS Toma Carthen, Nobar Deleon, Miriam Hernandez, Chloe Wilson, Robert Gibbons, Keyry Duran